Boathouse sails again – but some are left high and dry

He's the hospitality wunderkind behind Sydney's Boathouse empire, which made headlines nearly two years ago when it crashed and burned, owing more than 500 creditors a staggering $21.5 million. But now Andrew Goldsmith says he's learnt his lesson and intends to prove his doubters wrong.

"I remember telling our seafood supplier he was not getting paid. I was in tears at the fish markets. It was one of the hardest, most humbling days of my life ... but he stuck by us. He told me, 'You've just got to make more money'," says Goldsmith, 37, who personally bankrupted himself last May.

Humbled: Andrew Goldsmith at the new Boathouse site in Rose Bay on Thursday.Credit: Andrew Hornery

Goldsmith spoke to PS this week as he proudly showed off his latest venture, the first Boathouse in the eastern suburbs, due to open next month at Rose Bay's famous pier.

"I've spent a lot of time apologising to people, especially around the northern beaches ... it's pretty hard to avoid people there. I know a lot of suppliers were burnt, and I have a personal, moral debt to them. I want to make enough money to be able to repay them. That's a big thing for me."

However, not all of those "burnt" suppliers are convinced.

Peter Andrews, one of Australia's largest meat wholesalers, says his family business, Haverick Meats, is still owed nearly $100,000 following The Boathouse Group's collapse, a debt Goldsmith had personally signed on to as guarantor.

Andrew Goldsmith and Pip Robb at their original Palm Beach venue. Credit: James Brickwood

Andrews says: "What would people call me if I was to go down to Rose Bay, order up a nice expensive lunch and wash it down with a good bottle of wine, then walk out the door without paying? And yet here we are watching him, front and centre, expanding the business as if nothing has happened? It's a disgrace."

Last week, Andrews instructed his debt collectors to approach Goldsmith's bankruptcy trustee about his role within the Boathouse empire. They have given his trustee two weeks to respond.

"We are a tier one supplier. We are not going to go away. People have to be held accountable in business," Andrews says.

Goldsmith is well aware of Andrews' disapproval, telling PS he intended to "reach out" to his former supplier.

"People think we have phoenixed the business, but that's not the case. We have not done anything illegal. We have new owners. They are investing in the business because they are confident in it being a success," Goldsmith told PS.

Refurbishment works were under way at the new Boathouse site in Rose Bay this week.Credit: Andrew Hornery

"The business fell over when the banks went cold midway through a multimillion-dollar refurbishment of The Patonga Hotel at a time when we were heading into winter and our trade naturally slows down. It was a perfect storm ... a real shitfight. I felt we had no choice but to keep going. Looking back, I should have stopped when the banks said 'no'. Ironically, Patonga is now our best performing venue."

On Thursday, Goldsmith described himself to PS as the "unofficial CEO" of the Boathouse empire, which was bought in July 2019 for an undisclosed sum by a syndicate which includes his father-in-law, former Liberal federal trade minister Andrew Robb, along with northern beaches property developers the Isaac brothers and the Sorensen family, described simply as investors from the Southern Highlands.

The liquidation sale effectively wiped the debts of the string of companies which had owned the Boathouse venues, while former directors and owners Goldsmith and his interior designer wife Pip continue to run the businesses under new ownership.

The new owners formed the Palm Group, which took over the leases of the premises, the goodwill, and the responsibility to pay wages, along with eventually paying more than $1 million owed in staff superannuation.

The Goldsmiths, who have two children aged six and three, started the Boathouse empire in 2008 with just $30,000 when they took over their first site at Palm Beach. It quickly became one of the most successful and fashionable destinations on the northern beaches.

Today, the Boathouse brand stretches across eight venues across the northern beaches, including the historic Barrenjoey House, and Patonga on the Central Coast, employing 500 people. The ninth Boathouse venue in Rose Bay will employ about 50 staff. Its two levels offer the same beach-themed, signature relaxed and stylish destination the couple has become famous for.

Rose Bay pier landlord and Sydney sailing identity Dennis O'Neil is also contributing towards the cost of the extensive refit at the site, where The Boathouse has signed a five-year lease.

PS remembers well watching Goldsmith blush just a few years ago as he tried to explain how a couple in their early 30s had managed to create such an enviable empire.

Pip Goldsmith's parents were the original financial backers when they started the first Boathouse at Palm Beach.

A former barista, Goldsmith studied landscape design and worked as a furniture restorer and now admits he knew nothing of the intricacies of big business and property deals when they started out, but he was filled with confidence as their fledgling business went from strength to strength over a decade.

The couple sold their $4 million Palm Beach home to fund the Barrenjoey House expansion, and today are renting in the exclusive beachside enclave.

In 2019 Robb, a director of The Palm Group, told the Murdoch press his daughter and her husband had paid a heavy price for a “hiccup” in their ambitious expansion.

“They overreached and there are consequences for that, even if the rest of the business is in good shape,” Robb said.

“It’s very difficult, it’s unfortunate, but it’s just business.”

Long road to recovery for Kerri-Anne

It's a good thing Kerri-Anne Kennerley took out her own insurance policy before her ill-fated turn as a singing trapeze artist in the Sydney production of Pippin.

No match for an axe, or a paparazzo: Kerri-Anne Kennerley on Tuesday night in Double Bay.Credit: Wendell Teodoro

Kennerley underwent extensive surgery on Thursday at St Vincent's Hospital, which involved having a metal plate and 10 screws inserted on her collarbone, which may have to remain for the rest of her life. KAK is resigned to the prospect of a long recovery involving extensive physiotherapy over coming months after breaking her collarbone when she fell three metres on to the stage at the Lyric last month.

While her medical costs are covered, her confidence remains bruised, especially after her appearance on the Daily Mail website on Tuesday night, when she was photographed unawares outside her door.

"What arseholes," KAK – who has weaned herself off painkillers despite the excruciating agony – grimaced as her phone lit up with the unflattering images just as she was sitting down to celebrate public relations industry website The Social Diary's 16th birthday.

But she hasn't lost her sense of humour. Reminded of a famous quote she gave years back when asked about her longevity in showbiz, to which she replied: "You couldn't kill me with an axe!", KAK revealed to PS her doctors warned her she may have a scar following surgery.

"Apparently I don't have enough fat on my clavicle ... I suggested they could take some off my bum to make up for it!" she chortled.

Rocky times at Rockpool?

Celebrity chef and father of the bride Neil Perry was beaming at his first-born Josephine's wedding last weekend, but PS hears it is another marriage involving Perry – a corporate one – which might not be quite so happy at the moment.

Neil Perry (left) and Rockpool Dining Group chief executive Thomas Pash.Credit: Wolter Peeters

A noticeable absence at last weekend's wedding, held at Rockpool Bar and Grill, was Rockpool Group CEO Tom Pash, though friends of Perry insist their relationship is purely business, while others suggest things have been getting rocky between the men for some time.

Perry wouldn't be drawn on what the future holds for his Rockpool hospitality conglomerate, in which he remains a shareholder after formally announcing last year he was retiring from his role of culinary director and ambassador after 40 years in the kitchen.

"Look, I'm 64, but you're right, the business will always be in my blood. I am looking around at new ventures. I don't think my days in kitchens are quite over yet," Perry told PS.

In 2016, Perry sold the Rockpool Group, which then encompassed 47 venues, to the Urban Purveyor Group for $60 million. The merger formed the Quadrant Private Equity.

Rockpool Dining Group now encompasses more than 80 restaurants, a diverse portfolio that includes Japanese restaurants Sake, the Munich Brauhaus, and Burger Project.

Penguin Bloom's harbourside splash

Organisers are anxiously watching COVID-19 numbers in the lead-up to next Tuesday's world premiere of new Australian film Penguin Bloom at the Open Air Cinema on Sydney Harbour.

Cameron and Sam Bloom.Credit: Tim Bauer

The new movie tells the story of how a magpie helped a young mother and her family through a harrowing ordeal after an accident while on holiday in Thailand left her paralysed.

Quarantine restrictions have already botched plans for the film's big name stars, namely Naomi Watts and Jacki Weaver, to attend but an easing of the northern beaches lockdown means it is looking likely the film's subjects, locals Sam and Cameron Bloom, along with their three boys, will be able to be there.

Naomi Watts with Sam Bloom in November 2018.Credit: Cameron Bloom

Also due on the red carpet are producers Bruna Papandrea, Jodi Matterson, Steve Hutensky and Emma Cooper, along with writer Harry Cripps.

PS also hears the Blooms have already seen the Glendyn Ivin-directed film and have given it a hearty thumbs up.

Pot thickens at Lucio's

While the upcoming auction of his art collection and the famed artists who dined at Lucio Galletto's iconic Paddington dining institution have been getting all the attention, it should not be forgotten that the eatery was also a favourite haunt of Sydney's literati.

Lucio Galletto at his Paddington restaurant.Credit: Louie Douvis

Bookish types inform PS that publishing powerhouse Fiona Inglis of Curtis Brown had been a long-time regular, as was author Tom Keneally.

Keneally dined with Garry Shead at Lucio's when he was commissioned to design the cover of Keneally's novel Bettany's Book.

Charmed: The late novelist Colleen McCullough.Credit: Danielle Smith

Lucio's was also the late Colleen McCullough's go-to place when she came to town from Norfolk Island.

When she was less mobile in her later years, Galletto went out of his way to accommodate McCullough with easy access and charm, something of a feat given her well-documented bad moods.

Blanchett v Kidman

Cate Blanchett's Sydney friends have been bemused by reports that make it sound as though she is building her very own Tate Modern in the grounds of her English country manor Highwell House, a remote estate near the town of Crowborough in East Sussex, England.

Work of art: Cate Blanchett in Venice last year.Credit: Getty

"I've seen the plans, it's pretty modest," one told PS, while another added: "She has a great art collection but she keeps it in her home, not out in the shed!"

However, given her English idyll is also home to a colony of rare bats, her plans for a "wellness" centre, which went before local authorities, have drawn considerable attention in the British press this week, especially after the council gave her the green light on the proviso the bats are left alone.

Meanwhile, news that fellow Aussie Nicole Kidman was replacing Blanchett in an upcoming film about the late comedic legend Lucille Ball has also confounded many in showbiz, who remain unsure if glamorous Kidman – who has been enjoying a well-deserved career resurgence and was spotted with husband Keith Urban at Thursday night's Merry Widow performance – is as good a fit for the kooky role as gritty Blanchett, long considered an actor's actor. Clearly, Kidman is up for the challenge.

Loving Lucy: Nicole Kidman.Credit: Steven Chee @stevenchee @dlm_au

The film is set during a production week on the set of I Love Lucy, with the famous comedian and her husband Desi Arnaz (to be played by Javier Bardem), facing an unspecified challenge that threatens to end their TV show and careers. Sounds promising.