Coomer more than a shooting star

Some injudicious decisions about a decade ago almost forced the closure of David Coomer’s Star Anise restaurant before the doors had even opened.

And a not-so-great oven almost put an end to the restaurant’s opening night in October 1998.

Now, the sale of the premises that houses the renowned noshery poses a new threat to the business.

The restaurant game, Mr Coomer says, is no easy business.

He says it takes five years of tough work to create a successful restaurant.

“If you can come out of the other side and are strong enough mentally and physically, you are in with half a chance,” Mr Coomer said.

Mr Coomer and wife, Kareen, bought the former Thai restaurant in Shenton Park nine years ago, despite everyone else telling them their decision was flawed.

“They said it was a dead street with no foot traffic and we should do something on Rokeby Road,” Mr Coomer told Business Class.

Several years of financial hardship later, the restaurant has built up a strong reputation in Perth and includes some high-profile fans among its clientele.

Woodside chief executive Don Voelte and Rio Tinto Iron Ore chief executive Sam Walsh are among those who regard the business highly.

Both men told Business Class earlier this year that Star Anise was the Western Australian restaurant they kept going back to.

The restaurant was the only Perth eatery to be awarded two stars by the highly regarded food magazine Australian Gourmet Traveller when it put out its 2006 Restaurant Guide.

It is Mr Coomer’s commitment to quality produce that has helped put the restaurant on the gourmet map. He buys only the best beef, lamb and pigeon and puts together well structured meals such as the medium rare Margaret River Wagyu rib eye that fetches $58.

The restaurant has become a destination for foodies across Perth, something which means being on a “dead street” is no longer an issue for Mr Coomer.

When he decided to go it alone, Mr Coomer said he knew about 40 per cent of what he needed to know about running a business.

He’d learned a bit from Phil Sexton after spending four years working for the Sail and Anchor and Matilda Bay Brewery founder at his cafe, 44 King Street.

Mr Coomer had been planning to move back to his home city of Sydney after getting fed up working for different restaurateurs across Perth.

But he changed his plans after noticing a restaurant for sale with a very cheap price tag.

He refinanced his house and brought in a former colleague, who took a 20 per cent stake in the business.

While Mr Coomer thought this was a good idea at the time, it ended up a costly decision.

He bought the partner out within six months to avoid arguments and go it alone.

If he had his time again, Mr Coomer said, he would never have signed his original lease.

His rent increased 100 per cent in the first 12 months of business.

And now, following the recent sale of the business, the rent has increased a further 20 per cent.

“If I did again I would sign the lease but put a cap on the market review so it could not go up by more than 5 per cent,” Mr Coomer said.

The business was then almost stopped in its tracks a fortnight before it was due to open, after Mr Coomer discovered that the kitchen hadn’t been paid for.

The Coomers refinanced their car so they had enough money to pay for it.

It was this kitchen that provided the backdrop for one of Mr Coomer’s worst nights as a chef.

With a full house on opening night, he discovered that the oven wasn’t quite up to the task and it took much longer to prepare meals. They got through the evening but it took a long time to get some meals on the table, he said.

Mr Coomer has three years left to run on his lease but is looking for a suitable site to relocate the business following the sale of the restaurant’s building.