Restaurateurs pump $100K into fine dining dream

La Vida restaurant owners Nick and Sarah Graham Hooper say everything about their Hastings St arrival has been a leap of faith.

Nick and Sarah Graham Hooper have faith in the Hastings St community spirit.

La Vida restaurant owners Nick and Sarah Graham Hooper say everything about their Hastings St arrival has been a leap of faith.

That certainly includes investing $100,000 to open a next private fine dining room amid a pandemic.

But the former Tasmanians believe despite the risk they’ve already gained plenty.

They previously ran Novaro’s Restaurant in Launceston for 18 years before falling in love with Noosa during a four-day getaway last year.

One fine dining restaurant ready to stir the pot

They have put plenty of love and thought into their new space La Vida Privato, creating a moody, “luxe room” to seat 10.

There they will offer a seven-course degustation with matching Tasmanian wines.

Sarah Graham Hooper

“Diners will have a private waiter for the evening and will experience professional, friendly and customised service,” Ms Hooper said.

“Hospitality is our passion and we wish to bring high quality and warmth to the dining room.”

She said she had initially told her travel agent “I am not really a Noosa person” having never visited before.

“Nicholas and I instantly felt at home in Hastings St, likening it to a paralella in Greece where we once lived,” she said.

“So we Googled restaurants for sale and La Vida popped up, which had been on the market for two years,”

Ms Hooper said their fine dining restaurant had been on the market for two years and the previous La Vida owner had also been in business for 18 years.

“It was just really meant to be I suppose,” Sarah said.

“We came up to the next week to have a look and moved six weeks later … it was really quite bizarre.

“When we first got there I bounced up and down the street and said ‘oh I’m Sarah, we just bought La Vida’ and everybody looked at me,” she said.

The couple switched to providing takeaway meals during pandemic lockdown restrictions.

She said that had helped develop a relationship locally that was “just priceless”.

“We’ve had really good support from the local population,” she said.

“It was a really good operation, we certainly lost money (at that stage), but it was a really good advertising exercise.

A new era for a Hastings St favourite eatery.

“We’ve had so much support now and just to be able to greet people by name as they walk past the restaurant is really important,” she said.

Sarah said they spoke with locals about what Hastings St needed and their concepts changed quite a lot.

“We launched into it (their expansion) and we’ve had a great response,” Sarah said.

“I think Hastings St is just the most amazing place.

“It is quite a challenge to keep business alive … but once the borders open we’ll be right.

Nick Graham Hooper cooking up some fine dining options.

“Since COVID, Hastings St, that 700m strip, has really worked together and come together.”

The couple is flying the Tasmanian flag at La Vida Restaurant and before the pandemic were freighting crayfish and abalone from Flinders Island, scallops from Bridport, truffles from the Tamar Valley and various wines from vineyards around the state.

“Obviously this has become more of a challenge over the past months,” she said.

“As the airlines become more consistent, we will resume our orders.

“For now we are shipping what we can and finding local, Queensland seafood to showcase on our menus,” Sarah said.

Originally published as