Parramatta Stadium Rebuild and other stuff

[Suitman]

Another classy establishment opening in Parramatta soon.
It's no wonder City Extra and its 30 year old newspaper style menu's died a slow death.
It'll be in this almost complete QBE Tower beside the new museum site.
Parra coming along in leaps and bounds!!








Willo Restaurant and Bar to open at 32 Smith St Parramatta
july 15
Parramatta’s portfolio of swish watering holes is growing with Willo Restaurant and Bar to open in the $330 million 32 Smith St building.

The bevies will start pouring at Willo, on the ground floor of the 25-storey tower, in late September
when GPT Group is slated to officially open the major development.

Steve Jreij, the seasoned hospitality dynamo behind Parramatta’s Bica Cafe and Black Seed, is behind Willo,
which he has named after the willow trees along the Parramatta River.

Willo’s menu includes steaks and pastas for the corporate crowd during the week and modern Australian,
Mediterranean and share plates to complement the bar offerings on weekends.

“What we’re trying to achieve is a relaxed, moody, luxe atmosphere,’’ Mr Jreij said.
“We’re trying to target a more mature demographic, in between Alex & Co and Ruse.’’

Singers will perform at the venue on weekends in an interior filled with stone and natural timbers.
A kiosk will also open in the lobby and Sir Will Espresso is to keep the CBD caffeinated.

No Cookies | Daily Telegraph​

No Cookies

www.dailytelegraph.com.au

 

[Gronk]

Another classy establishment opening in Parramatta soon.
It's no wonder City Extra and its 30 year old newspaper style menu's died a slow death.
It'll be in this almost complete QBE Tower beside the new museum site.
Parra coming along in leaps and bounds!!

View attachment 50975






Willo Restaurant and Bar to open at 32 Smith St Parramatta
july 15
Parramatta’s portfolio of swish watering holes is growing with Willo Restaurant and Bar to open in the $330 million 32 Smith St building.

The bevies will start pouring at Willo, on the ground floor of the 25-storey tower, in late September
when GPT Group is slated to officially open the major development.

Steve Jreij, the seasoned hospitality dynamo behind Parramatta’s Bica Cafe and Black Seed, is behind Willo,
which he has named after the willow trees along the Parramatta River.

Willo’s menu includes steaks and pastas for the corporate crowd during the week and modern Australian,
Mediterranean and share plates to complement the bar offerings on weekends.

“What we’re trying to achieve is a relaxed, moody, luxe atmosphere,’’ Mr Jreij said.
“We’re trying to target a more mature demographic, in between Alex & Co and Ruse.’’

Singers will perform at the venue on weekends in an interior filled with stone and natural timbers.
A kiosk will also open in the lobby and Sir Will Espresso is to keep the CBD caffeinated.

No Cookies | Daily Telegraph​

No Cookies

www.dailytelegraph.com.au

Looks like Steve’s not serving cookies but.

 

[Suitman]

Looks like Steve’s not serving cookies but.

So be it.
This is an establishment that we would only have ever seen opening in the Sydney CBD.
It's good to see Parramatta catching up.

When 6/8 Parra Square opens, there might even be a restaurant that caters to your Eastern Suburbs tastes.

 

[Gronk]

So be it.
This is an establishment that we would only have ever seen opening in the Sydney CBD.
It's good to see Parramatta catching up.

When 6/8 Parra Square opens, there might even be a restaurant that caters to your Eastern Suburbs tastes.

I’m sure that there are some very good restaurants on the way.

 

[Suitman]

I’m sure that there are some very good restaurants on the way.

There's already plenty here.

 

[emjaycee]

Another classy establishment opening in Parramatta soon.
It's no wonder City Extra and its 30 year old newspaper style menu's died a slow death.
It'll be in this almost complete QBE Tower beside the new museum site.
Parra coming along in leaps and bounds!!

Not sure why you are comparing Willo to City Extra mate, because while definitely not to everyone's taste, places like City Extra do serve a market, albeit a totally different one to Willo.

City Extra positions itself as a family friendly cafe/restaurant, not a (de)luxe establishment that is specifically targeting a more mature demographic, and there is room in Parramatta for both.

 

[Gary Gutful]

There used to be someone that posted on here, suggesting that there was only room for the likes of City Extra. Personally, I think those sort of places are dying off for a reason.

 

[strider]

So parra wants to become toffsville? .... ffs, stick to being westie trogs

 

[emjaycee]

There used to be someone that posted on here, suggesting that there was only room for the likes of City Extra. Personally, I think those sort of places are dying off for a reason.

What are "those sort of places"?

They (CityExtra) offer a family friendly menu and somewhere you can take the kids to eat where you aren't worried about (a) paying $30 for a 10 year olds main course (b) not finding something on the menu the 10 yr old will eat (c) not caring about whether your kid is playing on their/your phone or tablet at the table. And at the same time you are getting a semi-decent meal for yourself and partner.

There are plenty of other places that are surviving/growing that serve the same demographic, in fact apart from the limited menu choices (single styled cuisine), the restaurant that replaced City Extra in Eat Street isn't that dis-similar (although they don't use newspaper styled menu's and aren't open 24/7). Rashay's is also a growing chain of family-friendly restaurants in the same vein as City Extra and they aren't exactly dying off.

Parramatta has room for both and the demographics to suit both.

Personally, I will wait to see if Willo succeeds beyond 12 months. There have been a number of similar restaurants in the area that haven't lasted.

 

[Eels Dude]

I used to love City Extra, they used to be open 24 hours as well didn't they? Come home from a night out in the city and you could grab a steak at 3am... how many places offer that. They were very family friendly with the amount of options available especially for kids.

 

[eels_fan]

City xtra was the bomb back in the day

Canadian breakfasts at 4/5am when we knocked off night shift at the clubs

 

[Suitman]

What are "those sort of places"?

They (CityExtra) offer a family friendly menu and somewhere you can take the kids to eat where you aren't worried about (a) paying $30 for a 10 year olds main course (b) not finding something on the menu the 10 yr old will eat (c) not caring about whether your kid is playing on their/your phone or tablet at the table. And at the same time you are getting a semi-decent meal for yourself and partner.

There are plenty of other places that are surviving/growing that serve the same demographic, in fact apart from the limited menu choices (single styled cuisine), the restaurant that replaced City Extra in Eat Street isn't that dis-similar (although they don't use newspaper styled menu's and aren't open 24/7). Rashay's is also a growing chain of family-friendly restaurants in the same vein as City Extra and they aren't exactly dying off.

Parramatta has room for both and the demographics to suit both.

Personally, I will wait to see if Willo succeeds beyond 12 months. There have been a number of similar restaurants in the area that haven't lasted.

I completely understand what you are saying. For sure, there is a market for places like City Extra, even in Parra. There's still a very successful one operating at Circular Quay, of all places.
In fact, in March, I took my daughter into the city for a day trip and then took her for lunch there because there was a favorite item on the menu that she loved - a Pesto Pasta. I tried it and it was delicious. Fantastic value it was.

I suppose that my original point was that a former poster ridiculed my excitement of a classier food scene developing in Parramatta and defended the demise of City Extra to the Nth degree. The fact was, even though City Extra was an institution in Parra for decent food at convenient hours, the newly evolving competition developing in Parra was always going to provide an alternative to 30 year old menu provided by CE.

The Proprietor of City Extra in Parra had a massive whinge at the time. He was his own worst enemy.
I would have been happy for City Extra to remain in Parra. I agree that there was a market for them but clearly, it wasn't managed well and suffered the ultimate consequences of new found competition.

In the end, with the changing demographic of Parra and million or multi million $ apartments popping up everywhere, there will be a demand for a multitude of dining establishments.
Sure, City Extra could have been one of these, but with the changing multi- cultural demographic moving into the city centre, as well as the commercial and govt sector of employees, a far more diverse range of cuisine was required.

There is now a multitude of culturally diverse places to eat, that provide equally great food at equally cheap prices as City Extra. Lebanese and Middle Eastern, Asian, European, Burger and sandwich specialty places, bars with tapos etc....
I'm glad that Parramatta now has those choices. Places like Willo will provide for a certain demographic, as will the cheaper places. There's room for all of them.
We no longer need to rely on the leagues club to provide a schnitzel and chips before a game.
There is a million better options, and I'm glad that I've tried many of them, and look forward to doing more of the same in the future.
A decent feed on game day is part of the game day experience.

 

[Gary Gutful]

What are "those sort of places"?

They (CityExtra) offer a family friendly menu and somewhere you can take the kids to eat where you aren't worried about (a) paying $30 for a 10 year olds main course (b) not finding something on the menu the 10 yr old will eat (c) not caring about whether your kid is playing on their/your phone or tablet at the table. And at the same time you are getting a semi-decent meal for yourself and partner.

There are plenty of other places that are surviving/growing that serve the same demographic, in fact apart from the limited menu choices (single styled cuisine), the restaurant that replaced City Extra in Eat Street isn't that dis-similar (although they don't use newspaper styled menu's and aren't open 24/7). Rashay's is also a growing chain of family-friendly restaurants in the same vein as City Extra and they aren't exactly dying off.

Parramatta has room for both and the demographics to suit both.

Personally, I will wait to see if Willo succeeds beyond 12 months. There have been a number of similar restaurants in the area that haven't lasted.

Cheap family focused eateries wont die. That wasn't my point. I wouldn't be so stupid to suggest that an important demographic will suddenly vanish.

I think the examples you've used to explain why places like City Extra wont die are actually are a little different in fairness.

With Masterchef and other similar shows over the last 10 years the average punter has become more discerning and also more willing to explore other options. There is a lot more competition and choice and places that do cheap, unpretentious food at reasonable prices.

I reckon places like City Extra are a relic and are being rapidly replaced by more modern takes on the same theme.

What are "those sort of places"? Places that have been pumping out the same shit for 30 years and haven't moved with the times...

 

[Gronk]

Parramatta light rail. Stay with me here.

 

[Gronk]

ePathway Home

onlineservices.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au

^^^^ link isn’t an error. Works fine.

Alterations and additions to Parramatta Leagues Club including partial demolition, minor excavation, upgrade of access arrangements and construction of a licensed premise comprising a restaurant and bar with a seating capacity of 156 seats and associated signage to operate 24 hours, 7 days. The licensed premises is associated with the existing Parramatta Leagues Club.

 

[Suitman]

Comes up as an error when I click on it.

Anyway, that's an interesting proposal considering it appears to be outside the Leagues Club boundary shown in the aerial shot above.

Edit - or is it the yellow bit? And not the spot that says "Area of proposed works"?

 

[emjaycee]

Comes up as an error when I click on it.

Anyway, that's an interesting proposal considering it appears to be outside the Leagues Club boundary shown in the aerial shot above.

Edit - or is it the yellow bit? And not the spot that says "Area of proposed works"?

They may be extending a little to the west (towards the carpark and the river) but at the moment they are using this area which is slightly undercover as a pop up bar already. They have been since Covid kicked in last year at least.

The current arrangement is open to the west and is basically under the existing building footprint where there was parking for executives and storage of empty kegs. I would imagine that the 3 or 4 metre depth isn't enough and they are looking to extend a little and enclose it fully.

Great idea for mine. Not only does it offer an additional bar and restaurant, this part of the Club has been getting used as the pick up area for MenuLog deliveries coming down from the Bistro and so this will give the Club an improved facility to still earn some income during any lockdown period with better 'take away' facilities.

Here is a pic of the current "Eels Lane"

 

[Gronk]

Comes up as an error when I click on it.

Anyway, that's an interesting proposal considering it appears to be outside the Leagues Club boundary shown in the aerial shot above.

Edit - or is it the yellow bit? And not the spot that says "Area of proposed works"?

Ok you need to do an address search “Eels Place” here.

Error

onlineservices.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au

Yes, yellow bit.

 

[Suitman]

Thank you both.

I wonder where the Hotel is at with it's approval?

 

[Gronk]

They may be extending a little to the west (towards the carpark and the river) but at the moment they are using this area which is slightly undercover as a pop up bar already. They have been since Covid kicked in last year at least.

The current arrangement is open to the west and is basically under the existing building footprint where there was parking for executives and storage of empty kegs. I would imagine that the 3 or 4 metre depth isn't enough and they are looking to extend a little and enclose it fully.

Great idea for mine. Not only does it offer an additional bar and restaurant, this part of the Club has been getting used as the pick up area for MenuLog deliveries coming down from the Bistro and so this will give the Club an improved facility to still earn some income during any lockdown period with better 'take away' facilities.

Here is a pic of the current "Eels Lane"
View attachment 51583

Ok I took it as an entry to 24 hour gambling.