REDLAND City Council should reject any plans for a Cleveland eat street proposal, says Hog’s Breath Cafe national operations manager Paul Piert.
Mr Piert said more than 50 restaurants operated in the district and they were already struggling.
He said the proposal to develop the new venue would have severe economic consequences to existing businesses.
The Chef’s Inc proposal by the owners of Cleveland business 4 Simplicity, Sharon and Colin Mason, is to open food markets in a car park behind Cleveland Library.
Mr Mason said he and wife Sharon were both chefs,lived in Cleveland and wanted to attract young adventurous chefs to compete against each other.
"We won't be setting up stuff like pizzas or traditional Italian,'' he said. "We want young entreprenurial chefs to come here.''
Mr Mason said traditional cuisines would be avoided so it could be that chefs would be doing whole roast suckling pig one week and Moreton Bay bugs.
Young chefs would be encourage to be innovative and challenge each other, almost Masterchef style.
Mayor Karen Williams said if the Cleveland CBD was to be reactivated more people had to be brought into the area which was the aim of the Cleveland CBD Revitalisation Project.
“One way to do this is to welcome new attractions and new events,’’ she said.
“We know the Hamilton Eat Street markets (Brisbane) have been a real attraction for people looking for a different experience. We also know many people from the Redlands have been regular visitors.
Mr Piert, who has two cafes at nearby Raby Bay and a training centre for staff, said local restaurants were doing it tough.
He said there already was an enormous range of food available in the Redlands which raised the question of what further could be introduced. Parking was also an issue and he did not believe the provision of portable toilets was appropriate for an eating venue.
“What is the point of this?’’ he said. “It will just mean loss of trade for established local business owners.’’
Mr Mason said he understood the concerns of local traders but would be marketing the project externally with the hope of bringing people to Cleveland from within and without the Redlands.
"We see this as breathing life back into Cleveland,'' he said. "We're not chasing the traditional customers that are here.''
The project would seat 300 to 400 people, have 10 permanent installations and a further five food trucks coming and going.
Cr Williams said the proposal offered existing businesses an opportunity to do new business.
“The Chefs Inc proposal has been called in, so it will be decided by the full council rather than officers under delegation, after a rigorous assessment by officers,’’ she said.
Mr Piert said he employed 61 staff at the Hog’s Breath Cafe and 22 at the Funky Mexican Cantina and he was not opposed to competition but it was difficult to work out where extra customers would come from.
If his and other local cafes were impacted, staff would be laid off. He did not oppose the farmers or twilight markets as these businesses complimented existing operations.
“If the reason for this is to bring more people to the Redlands, why don’t we bring live music to the parks, move screenings, better use of the marina or fitness classes?’’ he said.
Cr Williams said she understood that Raby Bay businesses felt threatened but there were similar reactions when plans for Raby Bay were revealed.
She said all feedback, for and against, would be considered in determining the application.
“Should the application be approved, I ask Raby Bay and other businesses to consider Chefs Inc as a positive opportunity and for them to leverage their own businesses by identifying and tapping into the potential of a new and different market,’’ she said.
