It’s a favoured restaurant of the rich and famous and a Sunshine Beach landmark for the past 13 years.
But with a site development imminent and the rising costs of running a restaurant, Andrew Powell has decided to close the doors permanently on his beloved Fratellini Restorante Italiano this Sunday.
Andrew counts among his regular customers former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and wife Therese Rein, mining magnate Gina Rinehart, playwright David Williamson and actor wife Kristen Williamson. TV presenters Karl Stefanovich and Kerry O’Brien and many other famous faces have also graced his premises.
Fratellini’s black-walled interior, alfresco dining, international flavour and prominent position on Duke Street make it an immediate drawcard, its good food and welcoming atmosphere have made it a regular go-to for a generation of customers since Andrew bought it as a going concern and turned it into a success.
“I’ve done very well out of Fratellini and really enjoyed it and had some really loyal customers come in for so long,“ Andrew said.
“I love when the restaurant’s pumping, the phone’s ringing, people standing at the counter, I’m behind the counter. There’s nothing like that buzz.
“Every Christmas we’re full. Those nights are hard work but also great fun.
“When Gina (Rinehart) bought all the parents of Olympic swimmers here, that was a great night.
“We used to do a lot of wine dinners with winemakers – like Geoff Merrill, Kevin Mitchell -a lot of top wineries came here to do wine dinners – it was always a full night.
“Every year we had at least one jazz night, playing here during their jazz festival. They were really good nights.
“I worked out I’ve been here 4800 hours. It’s been a big part of my life.“
Andrew didn’t start out in the hospitality industry but it was something he knew from a young age.
“My grandma had a pub, I used to work in it from the age of eight, washing glasses. She said, don’t go into the hospitality industry, it’s a mug’s game. You’re always working when everyone is having fun.
“So I went into the fashion industry, but it got me.“
English-born Andrew had a very successful career in the fashion industry, working across the world. He was based in South Africa when Country Road brought him to Australia to head up their menswear and that led him to Noosa.
“My boss, a good customer of mine now, said you can’t understand Australia living in Melbourne, you need to go to a tourist resort to understand resort wear,“ Andrew said.
“He paid for me and my designer to come up to Noosa for a weekend and I said ’this is where I want to live’.“
Andrew left Country Road after four years and bought a little cafe in Hastings St, cutting his teeth in hospitality in the cafe, then sold it to go back to the clothing industry.
When he hit 50 he decided the clothing industry was a young person’s game and returned to the Sunshine Coast, finding Fratellini’s on the market. Three weeks later he was in business.
A lot has changed in Sunshine Beach since he began and rising costs are taking their toll on the restaurant industry.
“Thirteen years ago Sunshine Beach was very different to what it is today,” he said. “Property prices were still considered high.
“To make a living what could you do – hospitality, real estate, council. “Certainly, you couldn’t work from home like you can now. Covid changed all that.
“Sixty per cent of houses in Sunshine Beach were rented to people in real estate and hospitality, who came in regularly.
“They can’t afford to rent here anymore and regulars who owned homes have cashed in and bought elsewhere.
“People who bought recently are from interstate or overseas and come to their property a couple of times a year.
“You drive around the streets at night, it’s dark.
“It’s the same all over the world, tourist resorts become popular, they go through a demographic change.
“People who work at the restaurant today can’t afford to live here or anywhere remotely close. We employ a lot of people who stay at the backpackers.“
Backpackers are good for the restaurant.
“They’re generally highly intelligent people. They just want to get a hospitality job, they need the money and want to travel. They’re all fresh-faced, happy to be here. They bring an energy, my customers love it. It makes it more cosmopolitan.“
Andrew counts himself lucky to have had the same head chef for eight years and Joel looking after the kitchen for the past 10 years.
When the building owner told Andrew of his proposed development, recently approved, to turn the site into five one-bedroom apartments on a top level with two restaurants below, he decided it was time to pull the pin.
“The costs of running a business are very hard to pass on,” he said.
“Electricity has doubled, gas has doubled. When you’ve got pizza overs firing all day long that’s bloody expensive.
“Rent on the building is linked to CPI. We have inflationary increases on the lease.
“The main driver is produce – those bills have doubled. We buy a lot of imported Italian products.
“The biggest killer is the cost of labour.
“People say Noosa is an expensive place to live so we have to pay a fair wage but what we pay is the highest in the world that you pay an unskilled waitress.
“Because I’m a rag trader and I know how to make money, and I can’t make money.
“The problem we’ve got, from Boxing Day to New Year’s day there isn’t enough seats in Noosa for all the people here, then February and March there’s too many restaurants, May and June, there’s too many restaurants.“
“We’re fortunate that people who have houses here are very wealthy and (rising costs of living) don’t affect them as much, but for an average family who have a $600,000 mortgage, they’re interest payments each year have gone up $16,000, so where does that money come from – so holidays and eating out – that’s the first thing to go when discretionary income goes. It feels like we’re hit from a perfect storm.“
It’s cyclical, says an optimistic Andrew, “the situation will change and when two restaurants open up in Sunshine it’ll bring new life to the village“.
This weekend is the last for Fratellini.
“Our last night we’re open is Saturday night. There’ll be pastas and pizzas and we’ll be using up everything we’ve got left,“ he said
After that he says he plans to spend time “just enjoying living in Noosa“ but the driven business man has already traded in his Porsche on a luxury Mercedes SUV and launched his new business venture called Noosa Executive Transfers, where he can conduct airport transfers and keep in touch with his many customers.
Anyone wanting to book a lift from the airport can call Andrew on 0409 095 349. To book for Fratellini’s final Saturday night phone 5474 8080.
