The summerhouse

For those not familiar with the summerhouse, here's some of why the old Kiosk was so special and why being the owner and operator of the summerhouse in New Farm Park was so dear to my heart.

To begin, ‘the Kiosk’ as it was known back then, was built in 1915 along with the Bandstand (or ‘Rotunda’ as we called it), which is still standing today overlooking the rows of beautiful rose gardens within Jacaranda Drive. The French Gardener who attended to the roses for Council during the 13 years I was in New Farm Park did so with so much dedication, love, and passion, he should be knighted!

Back then the old Kiosk was nestled under the fig trees at the end of Dixon Street, next to the Croquet Club. The Kiosk provided visitors to the park with limited refreshments over the course of its life and for many, it was a place to drop in for ice cream or a cold drink when they were kids.

For years after the fire, that destroyed the summerhouse I had so many people share their childhood memories with me. Most touching were their memories of spending time at the ‘Kiosk’ with loved ones that were no longer with them, grandparents, parents, siblings, or close friends. Happy, warm, and loving memories of a time they connected with the Kiosk and New Farm Park.

It’s hard to relay that sense of loss. I never realised just how much it meant to so many people until it was gone. I’d have grown people cry as they shared the devastation and how they felt. On reflection perhaps it was their own grief and realisation that the memories of those dear to them and so close to their hearts were gone. Either way, it’s such a shame to think the summerhouse or the Kiosk has been lost to so many for so long now.

My story of New Farm Park commenced in 1999 but started much earlier as hospitality was always in my blood. Having worked my entire career moving up the hospitality ‘ladder’ from washing dishes at Bonanza during my high school days to managing ‘Il Centro’ in the city for nearly 4 years, it was inevitable that one day I would find a special place to make my mark. Although I had hoped, I never thought it would be as special as it turned out to be.

The opportunity came one Saturday having returned from overseas. There in the Courier Mail was a small, classified ad alerting me to a Council Tender seeking a new operator for the New Farm Park Kiosk. I immediately arranged for an inspection and what I found changed my life - in so many ways.

The Kiosk at the time was pretty well run down and barely operating. It was unloved by past operators, and it showed. It was just sitting there, sad and neglected in the most beautiful of settings. As I waited anxiously outside for the council inspector to arrive, I was taken by the unique character of the building and the beauty of the surroundings.

My mind was racing. I began to visualise the people, the staff, the service, the buzz of the kitchen, the laughter of diners, kids running around, parents enjoying a break, families coming together for breakfast under the figs, lunch meetings in the park, dinner under the stars. By the time he arrived, I knew exactly what I could do to the old Kiosk.

As fate would have it, I won the tender. There followed a major renovation on the old kiosk – with Council’s help we re-stumped, re-painted, re-plumbed, and re-wired. We fixed the leaking roof – a batch of the original terracotta tiles from Italy were found – don’t ask me how.

One morning during this time I came in to see the painter just about to paint over the timber shutters which over the years had been painted shut. When I told him how much of a shame it would be that no one dining inside would be able to look out to the park, he painstakingly restored the timber shutters and got them working again. It took him the better part of a week instead of half a day to paint. If there was one feature (and there were many) that captured the essence of the summerhouse, it was sitting inside and looking out across the expanse of the park when these white timber shutters were open.

By the time the river breezes hit the summerhouse they were gentle enough to carry the scent of the frangipani’s that grew outside these timber shutters. The shutters were on either side of the main room which showcased a bay of windows that ran front and center of the Kiosk. Inside that room, the original timber servery curved around posts from where we’d locate our 2-group coffee machine. Little did I know just how many coffees we’d pump out from this machine in the months to come!

In keeping with the frangipanis outside, we painted the inside of the summerhouse with a soft yellow pallet along with white trim on all the shutters, windows, and doors. The timber floors and old servery were re-sanded and ceilings that pitched to a center spire benefited from painting it white soaring even higher. A modern take on the traditional french timber café table and chairs created a room that was bright, light, and airy. We cleaned up the gardens, paved outside under the magnificent fig trees, and opened up the visa of the park from within by replacing the center pain of the windows with clear glass (the top and bottom panes were frosted). We had enough seating inside and out for 50 people. This was to explode as the word spread. By the time of the fire, we had seating for over 180 inside and out and on most weekends we were double-booked.

While all this was happening it became apparent to me that the name ‘the kiosk’, didn’t suit the new look and feel of what was unfolding and as each day of renovating went by, the search for a new name continued. Finally, the name ‘the summerhouse’ bloomed just as the finishing touches were completed on the restoration. The summerhouse was born.

The aim then was to create something magical for everyone. As it turned out, we had to as we had everyone drop by; Mum’s with newborn babies wanting a reprieve, young kids wanting ice cream, grandparents meeting old friends, visitors to Brisbane wanting a break from sightseeing, business meetings, couples meeting on their first date, families celebrating a birthday, there were weddings, engagements, and christenings. I even had the homeless who lived in the park drop by for their morning coffee. At first, we had to cater for Breakfast, Lunch and Takeaway but that quickly escalated to include Dinners, Functions and lots and lots of Weddings!

I remember the first day we opened, I was there at 5 am setting up, getting the outdoor settings ready for the day ahead. My Head Chef at the time had so much work to do he slept there the night before! Fortunately for me, I had the support of an amazing group of hospitality workers who all left their jobs to come work with me at the summerhouse. The success we achieved (and it was huge) was a direct result of their level of service, attention to detail and the food, the kitchen staff created and delivered every day.

What started as a team of 12 grew quickly as the word spread. Articles written in Brisbane News on the summerhouse were followed by feature stories in the Courier Mail that doubled and tripled business overnight. Soon we were booked out for most breakfasts and lunches. Later articles in Gourmet Traveller pushed numbers through the stratisphere.

With the increase in trade, we opened nights. To set a different mood for dinner to that of the café during the day, we went all out with white linen tablecloths and fine china. The ambiance was enhanced by setting up special lighting throughout the gardens and fire torches (citronella) on either side of the pathways. We placed carpets on the pavers outside on which we set up each table on. They were like floating oases in amongst the trees. As most of my staff had come from high-end restaurants and hotels, this level of hospitality suited them even more.

We introduced Jazz or a string quartet that played most Thursday evenings. But all up Dinner under the stars made the summerhouse even more magical.

It wasn’t long before more and more people wanted to hold their wedding functions at the summerhouse. Amongst everyday couples who chose the magic of a garden wedding, were a few famous people (no names). So as the setting proved more and more popular, we started to hold two per day – one at lunch, the other at night, most Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

At first, we won local accolades, state awards came soon after, and then a lot of national recognition came. By that time, we were hitting our straps. The staff numbered over 50 and we would do 180 to 200 plated meals for breakfast on most Saturdays and the same again on Sundays. Lunch numbers were similar but on top of this we were also setting up for a wedding or christening. By that stage, I had purchased a silk-lined marquee. Every Sunday after service, all the staff would gather to celebrate another record week and I mean week after week of breaking the previous record. Drinks at Gerties always followed. It was a way of sharing in the success and the magic that we all felt.

Back then there were two items I collected over the years. Menus - I had collected/stole (sorry) /borrowed from establishments all through Australia and over the world - most were signed by the chef or owners. The second was Gourmet Australia magazines and foodie books - if I was lucky the food books were signed by the authors which in most cases were the chef! I had every month of Gourmet Traveller from the very first edition. It seems funny now but believe it or not, they were my most prized possessions (this was well before kids!). These items were front and center on the shelves and in cabinets inside my office which was in a room off the main dining area. These were my reference guides, my inspiration. They provided me with the imagination of what was possible. They taught me new and exciting things. I was driven to emulate those written about in the articles, I learnt to be creative and push the boundaries with food and service. Fortunately for me, I had the team that helped deliver all these things and more. The future never looked so good.

Sometime early on Monday morning, 11 September 2000 I received a call that would change everything. The fire that destroyed the summerhouse and my prized possessions took away more than just that. I’ve never been able to collect another menu since. In fact, every menu I hold reminds me of the fire, even now after 21 years. The fire happened after our biggest week and weekend trade ever. On that Sunday alone we plated over 500 meals for breakfast and lunch excluding takeaway. I remember the queue for takeaway coffee (remember that 2-group coffee machine) a cold drink or ice cream ran from the front servery through the main dining room, out the front door, and down the ramp for most of the day. This continued while we ran out over 500 meals on the day and reset for the next bookings.

To think that the summerhouse has been replaced with a demountable all these years is just wrong. I fought for 12 years because it is my belief that New Farm Park is a world-class park that deserves a world-class facility, not the eyesore that has replaced the summerhouse. After the fire, I told Council I’d rebuild the old Kiosk as it was, but that’s another story I’d be happy to share if anyone's interested.

On a final note, I wanted to share this with readers because at the end of the day, I still can’t believe it’s not there – the old Kiosk, the summerhouse should have been rebuilt.

I still can’t believe some people think it’s not needed – you only have to look at the numbers we were doing to disprove this.

I still can’t believe people think it’s bad for the community – if only you could have heard the stories told to me after the fire from a community in mourning.

Finally, to all the staff and diners that I never got a chance to thank, you were the magic.

Glen