The UTS Haberfield Rowers Club is now home to the Regatta Club kiosk, bar, and restaurant after Sydney hospitality group Dedes Waterfront Group secured the catering rights through a tender process late last year.
According to Dedes Group general manager Peter Robinson, operating a venue inside a club is not all that different from running a standalone restaurant.
“There’s not a huge difference; it’s just managing that extra membership login, but it’s pretty seamless,” Dedes Group general manager Peter Robinson told Club Management.
“I think clubs have a good reputation across New South Wales, at least for value. Yes, it costs to be a member but with that, you get discounts on food and beverage, and you get a gift certificate on your birthday.”
Operating the Regatta Club is not the hospitality group’s first rodeo into operating a club-based hospitality venue, however. Less than 10 kilometres away at the Sydney Rowing Club is Watergrill, which Dedes Group has been overseeing for over 25 years. The group also recently took over the catering operations of Alpha restaurant and Beta Events, owned by The Hellenic Club of Sydney.
Robinson said when the group was deciding on the menu for Regatta Club, it needed to be mindful of its neighbours.
“We didn’t want to cannibalise any of the market share [at Watergrill]. We wanted to create something a little different to Watergrill. We’re also very aware there are no pubs in Haberfield – back in 1902, the local council decreed that Haberfield was going to be slum-less and pub-less.”
The result: a restaurant menu that boasts dishes including fried calamari with hot and numbing salt, barramundi fillet with glazed eggplant and roast tomato vinaigrette, and fish and chips.
The group also introduced a sports bar to the space, which serves pub grub, cocktails and spritz, and an Australian-leaning wine list.
“We’ve taken the same approach we take to most of our venues, and that’s looking at what’s on the plate. I think If you start with a good piece of protein and a good accompaniment, and you invest in that, I think that translates to a premium product.”
Membership numbers have grown by over 600 since the Regatta Club opened.
