The South Australian Premier, Peter Malinauskas, has denied allegations that a local cafe was forced to close at the government’s request to make way for LIV Golf parklands expansion plans. The claims were made by the owner of a riverfront dining institution, who alleged that LIV Golf’s North Adelaide move contributed to its closure.
Cafe Owner Blames LIV Golf For Forced Closure
The South Australian Government and LIV Golf recently revealed that Adelaide will be the exclusive home of LIV Golf in Australia with an extension agreement through 2031, but that hasn’t come without some controversies.
Keep Reading: LIV Golf Makes Bold Move With Australia
The historic River Cafe and Red Ochre Barrel + Grill, on the River Torrens in North Adelaide, shut down its operations after owner and executive chef Ray Mauger lost his bid to secure a long-term lease with the Adelaide City Council.
Mr. Mauger revealed that he had a gentleman’s agreement to extend the lease for the site on War Memorial Drive, which was set to be extended for 12 months. However, a new clause was added at the last minute that gave the council the right to evict at just a month’s notice.
The cafe owner also said that he had seen reports indicating a confidential $50 million North Adelaide Golf Course masterplan, which includes a two-storey clubhouse over the River Torrens in the current location of his cafe and restaurant.
“It just seems coincidental,” Mr. Mauger said. “It definitely appears to be my building, right on the river.”
Premier Insists Government Didn’t Ask Anyone to Shut Their Doors
Premier Peter Malinauskas has vehemently refuted the claims that the state government forced restaurants to close down in order to pave the way for LIV Golf’s move to North Adelaide. Malinauskas stated that there had been no request by the state government to the council to ask the restaurants to close down.
“This is a lease the council has with those proprietors, I understand the lease was put before them, and there was a lengthy negotiation about those terms – we haven’t been party to that,” he said.
In February, Premier Peter Malinauskas revealed that LIV Golf would move from Grange Golf Club to a world-class course developed by Australia’s greatest golfer Greg Norman, on the site of the current North Adelaide course. He also added that the state government was engaging in discussions with the Adelaide City Council around a lease agreement for the golf course, however, he insists this wasn’t connected to the nearby restaurants.
“As we speak, there are officials nutting out what a potential lease looks like between the council and the state government around the golf course itself and the clubhouse and everything that sits within the golf course, which is quite separate to those restaurants,” he said.
“If that area becomes available, and the council notifies us of that, then I can’t rule out what happens in the future, but I can, say that there has been nothing from us to the council that says, ‘can you please boot these guys out, because we wouldn’t mind getting our hands on it’ – that just hasn’t happened.”
Main Photo Credit: © Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images
