The longstanding Blake’s Cafe in North Perth is set to expand next door to fill the space where Ripper Books currently operates.
Blake’s new director Tom Randolph has taken over from former owner and chef Riki Kaspi, and wants to expand his cafe from its existing 145sqm to 180sqm.
Randolph says that, similar to his Tom’s Kitchen restaurant in the Perth CBD, the bigger Blake’s will be inspired by the slow-food movement.
Enigmatically, he claims that during the day there will be takeaway meals and quick, light meals available for consumption.
At night, Randolph says, Blake’s will transform into an “intimate, boutique restaurant” for up to 60 diners.
The planned hours of operation will be 6am to 9 or 10pm, seven days a week.
Randolph’s development proposal has been lodged but is yet to be considered by City of Vincent planners.
A wine bar called Amani is set to be built between a school accommodation village and the Dome Cafe on the corner of Oxford and Vincent streets in Leederville.
Like virtuallyeveryotherboutiquebarapplication since the government paved the way for small bars in 2007, Amani promises to be a contemporary, luxurious and intimate venue.
City of Vincent planners have recommended the bar be approved when the city’s councillors meet on Tuesday night.
If it gets the local nod, the bar will then have to go through the state government liquor licensing process.
Amani is the brainchild of Jacquie Guilbert and Brendon Aitken. Aitken is involved in The Cabin small bar in Mount Hawthorn and The Suite on Nicholson Road in Subiaco.
The bar would have a maximum capacity of 94 chardonnay sippers and open to Oxford Street.
White wines would range in price from the Pierro Chardonnay 2008 at $150 a bottle, to Fifth Leg Semillon Sauvignon Blanc at $20 a bottle.
The most expensive red drop would be the Cullen Diana Madeline Margaret River 2009 at $140 a bottle. The cheapest red plonk would be the Big Brook Rose at $25 a bottle.
Sparklies would range from a bottle of Billecart-Salmon Cuvee Francois 1998 at $320-a-pop down to the $28-a-bottle Brown Brotther Prosecco Kings Valley.
For anyone who still goes to bars to drink beer, prices would range from a $10 stubby of Little Creatures Pale down to a $9 stubby of Corona.
After a 21-day consultation period, the mooted bar received one objection from the education department and a thumb’s up by an undisclosed commenter.
The department expressed “serious objection” to the bar because a school had an “accommodation village next to the building where many students stay through the year”.
The supporter considered Leederville to be missing a quality wine bar and that Amani would bring sophistication to the area.
APRIL 4 UPDATE: A 22-year-old man who allegedly escaped police custody at Royal Perth Hospital on Saturday has been caught this afternoon at a house in the Fremantle suburb of Hilton.
Gregory Laurence Maher (pictured) had been treated at the hospital when he allegedly escaped from a car park about 2.45pm.
At the time, police spokeswoman Ros Weatherall said Maher was allegedly dangerous and that the public should not to approach him.
Today, Ms Weatherall said Maher had been found at a house in Hilton.
Ms Weatherall said Maher would be charged with escaping legal custody.
A planned 6.5 per cent parking hike across the entire City of Perth has been slammed by city councillors but remains alive.
Perth council bureaucrats have recommended that, from July 1, a flat 20-cent-an-hour price hike across all on-street and off-street car spaces in central Perth.
This equates to a 6.5 per cent increase – which is 3.0 per cent more than last year’s price rise.
However, city parking committee members Lyndon Rogers and James Limnios – both real estate agents – last week rejected any rise in the cost of street parking.
Crs Rogers and Limnios argued the recent introduction of parking meters in East Perth and West Perth [which had earned the ire of locals and workers there], and the possible impact on retail trade, would make a street parking hike untenable.
Instead, at last week’s parking committee meeting, Cr Rogers moved the price rise be limited to off-street car bays only.
The only other councillor at the meeting – Cr Limnios – rejected any price hike.
Cr Rogers’ casting vote ensured his recommendation – that the price rise be limited to off-street parking – would now go to a meeting of the full council for a decision.
On the upside, from a motorist’s perspective, a recommended 50 per cent discount on the first four hours of weekend parking will also progress to a council vote.
The weekend discount is designed to counter the relentless allure of vapid, suburban shopping malls that mainly have free parking.
Andy Freeman – the man behind Highgate’s Luxe Bar – has applied to open a speakeasy at upscale King Street in the Perth CBD.
Freeman has asked the City of Perth to approve the bar – at Number 75, not far from Wellington Street.
City of Perth officials have recommended their political masters approve the bar.
The bureaucratic rub is the venue would be required to close no later than midnight.
Indeed, Freeman proposes to operate the bar from noon until midnight, Monday to Saturday, with a daytime “food focus” and an “evening mode” after 4.00pm.
Freeman has told the city the bar would offer “an inner city taste of the New York speakeasy versus the Melbourne back streets [??]” environment.
The focus would be on conversational dining with a “researched selection of interesting spirits, international beers and old world wines, with a seasonal menu focusing on fresh seafood and quality produce”.
The venue would host up to 120 patrons.
If the application is approved by the city, Mr Freeman will then need to apply for a liquor licence.
WA’s liquor watchdogs have refused a bid by the Sebel hotel chain owned by national property giant Mirvac to put mini-bars in the rooms of its serviced apartments at East Perth.
Liquor Commission Deputy Chair Eddie Watling today dismissed Mirvac’s appeal against a decision by the WA Liquor Licensing Director to refuse the mini-bars at the Sebel Residenceapartments at Claisebrook Cove.
In its application, Mirvac had argued the mini-bars would be good for tourism because its clients demanded such a service in its plush, 57-apartment complex.
However, Mr Watling agreed with the director’s earlier refusal on the grounds that Mirvac had provided inadequate information to back its claim.
Mr Watling concurred Mirvac had only provided generalised statements and data including Federal tourism statistics, and information on the current mix of customers and average length of stay.
Notice of Mirvac’s original application had been served on the Executive Director Public Health and the Commissioner of Police.
Contrary to the fate of most liquor licence applications these days, no objections or interventions were lodged by either party.
Mirvac first applied to instal the mini-bars 10 months ago – in May 2011.
The foray of the 12.7 square kilometre City of Perth into foreign affairs continues unabated – this time on home soil.
Yesterday, Nanjing’s Mayor Ji Jianye caught up with globetrotting Perth mayor Lisa Scaffidi before a reception in his honour at Council House.
Mayor Jianye’s delegation of Communists was given a traditional West Aussie greeting by the Wadumbah Aboriginal Dance Group.
Earlier in the day, the delegation visited urban development projects.
The City of Perth has enjoyed formal relations with its sister city of Nanjing since 1998.
Ms Scaffidi claimed international collaboration at the most local of levels was needed to press Perth’s tourism, business, education and health links with China.
Last financial year, the council’s budget for all sister city activities was $314,064.
By contrast, the tab for Ms Scaffidi’s various trips abroad for the Perth Education City consortium has mainly been picked up by the WA taxpayer.
Before becoming mayor in October 2007, Ms Scaffidi had stridently criticised the number of Perth’s sister city agreements, and then-mayor Peter Nattrass’s travel to service them.
The City of Perth failed to comply with state government reporting laws eight times last year – or 10 per cent of the time it was required to do so.
An annual audit of the city’s reporting activities has revealed the city fell well short of the 98 per cent compliance rate it achieved in 2010.
Ironically, five of the eight breaches in 2011 that were identified by the audit were to do with failing to comply with audit procedures.
A council report produced today divulges that the breaches arose because an agreement between the city and its auditors Grant Thornton Audit Pty Ltd was never signed by the auditors and returned to the council.
Notification of the need to sign and return the agreement was first sent to Grant Thornton Audit in August 2010 but still no signed contract exists between the city and the company.
A reminder letter dated January 31 was sent to Grant Thornton Audit advising the firm of the urgent need to sign and return the contract agreement.
The council report says this non-compliance is likely to be corrected soon.
The other three compliance failures related to council CEO Frank Edwards failing to put all employee delegations in writing, less than full reporting of a lease to Optus to build a small brick building on Langley Park, and the failure of all employees to lodge annual returns on time.
The council report says improvements have and will be made in the areas of non-compliance.
MARCH 8 UPDATE: The basketball court for the beleaguered Perth Arena project will be delivered and installed in August or September – if a state government tender process goes to plan.
Government agency VenuesWest yesterday advertised for tenderers to provide a mobile basketball court, backstops and netball rings.
The tender documents call for the court, backstops and rings to be delivered and installed “in August or September”.
Last month the Perth Wildcats – Western Australia’s premier basketball team – said it would abandon plans to play at the arena if the troubled project were not complete by October.
Today, Premier Colin Barnett said the arena would be practically completed in August, and have its long-awaited gala opening on November 10.
“Practical completion will occur in August as previously announced with a three-month commissioning period including all system testing, furnishing, training and a series of test events to follow,” Mr Barnett said.
“The people of Western Australia can expect a very exciting opening program that will allow the community access to fully experience the venue.
“While it cost more than it should have, I’m confident the arena will prove to be a wonderful venue for all West [sic] Australians to enjoy.”
The possible September supply date of the basketball and netball equipment occurs after Mr Barnett’s stated project completion date.
oneperth.com.au has put calls into the Wildcats to see if the franchise is comfortable with the timing.
A November or December finish date would force the Wildcats to refund hundreds of $150 packages already paid for by members.
Last month the Wildcats signed a sponsorship deal with engineering and design company ConstructaTruck.
ConstructaTruck cited the team’s move to Perth Arena as a major factor in its sponsorship decision.
Technical and project management dramas have seen the Perth Arena – first conceived in 2004 – plagued by project over-runs.
