Forrest’s Z1Z to open restaurant

Mining magnate Andrew Forrest’s hospitality and entertainment company, Z1Z, will open its first venue at the Old Swan Brewery site in early November. 

Called Cooee, the 125-seat venue will have a menu curated by chef Alan Wise, who was awarded a Michelin star for his food at Rouge Tomate in New York in 2017.

Z1Z general manager Alan Ford said the venue would cater to an all-day crowd, serving food from breakfast to dinner five days a week.

He said the restaurant was aiming to satisfy the early morning coffee crowd, people who lived in the Old Swan Brewery and the office staff of Forrest-owned Tattarang and Minderoo Foundation who work in the building.

“There are 28 apartments in the facility itself and there’s nowhere for anyone to pop down and grab a coffee, grab a bite to eat, get some breakfast, get some lunch or even dinner,” Mr Ford told Business News.

“Really it’s about reactivating the precinct.

“We see a good future in the tourism market when domestic and international tourists can come back; it’s a great waterfront location.”

He said the lunch and dinner menus would represent the venue's location, and use produce from Tattarang’s other businesses, including meat from Harvest Road Beef and seafood from Leeuwin Coast.  

“Invariably there should be a lot of seafood-based dishes, quite a few vegan and vegetarian dishes as well though, to really make the food quite light,” Mr Ford said.

The food would also incorporate native ingredients and be influenced by Asian flavours, he said.

“The chef is really leaning on his time in New York and his experience of food generally to drive a menu that’s going to be creative and exciting but simple and not fussy,” Mr Ford said.

Z1Z is the accommodation, food and beverage, sport and entertainment arm of the Tattarang business.

The business’s assets include the Indiana Tea House in Cottesloe, the Ningaloo Lighthouse Holiday Park, the Global Rapid Rugby program and the Wester Force rugby team.

Z1Z purchased the Old Swan Brewery site in mid-2019.