THE success of Margaret River’s regional branding has evolved into the establishment of a new retail segment in Perth.
Speciality shops focused on selling food products from Margaret River and surrounding regions are opening across the metropolitan area.
While selling regional produce is nothing new, it is a first for those outlets that have opened to devote 100 per cent of shelf space to produce from the South West.
Gourmet stores in Sydney are also catching on to the Margaret River brand. In particular, Jones the Grocer has boosted its product lines from four to almost 20.
Jones the Grocer food consultant Kelvin Bartholomeusz said Margaret River food producers were now enjoying the spoils created by their wine industry counterparts.
“I think WA wine has paved the way for food tourism,” he said.
“You just have to say ‘Margaret River’ and people want to snap it up.”
In Perth, Margaret River on the Boardwalk opened at Sorrento Quay late last month and joined the December opening of London Court’s Proost: The Taste of Margaret River, forming a new segment of food and tourism retailing.
The owners of Margaret River on the Boardwalk are also planning to open a retail restaurant concept for the CBD this year.
Arguably the first to start the tourism and food-retailing trend in Perth was Subiaco-based Panache Gourmet Food and Wine, which opened 14 months ago.
While its retail restaurant concept focuses on WA suppliers rather than one region, owner Jo Grist said Margaret River’s food suppliers were making it easier for retailers to stock product.
“They are finding more ways to transport it up. They did find it hard but now there are co-operative efforts going on to get it here and make it cheaper for the client,” Ms Grist said.
Margaret River on the Boardwalk principals Paul Chatterley and Louise Graziano have only been open for a fortnight but say the business is already drawing a crowd.
“I’m now shipping stuff to New York, England, Adelaide, and Melbourne,” Mr Chatterley said.
“Most people know the product and say it’s good they don’t have to drive down every time.”
The idea for Margaret River on the Boardwalk followed two incidents, according to Mr Chatterley – a drive to Margaret River to get much-loved food products and the Hillary’s Boat Harbour fire.
“We used a lot of bits and pieces out of Margaret River and we ran out one day, and so we thought we’d make a day of it and go get some more,” Mr Chatterley said.
“We were half way down there, and it’s a 700 kilometre round trip for us, and we thought it was ridiculous because we just wanted to get the produce. It wasn’t a getaway.”
Mr Chatterley’s two other retail outlets were destroyed in the fire at Hillary’s Boat Harbour last year, and while waiting for the restorations to finish, he approached Sorrento Quay Centre Management about the possibility of opening another store.
They were more than keen.
Mr Chatterley believes both retail concepts will prove popular with consumers and is in the process of securing exclusive contracts with suppliers to provide him with some competitive clout.
He also hopes to secure a liquor licence to sell boutique wines.
“What we’re doing is specialising. We’re not looking to be a wine business,” Mr Chatterley said.
Edith Lagenijk is also aware of the growing popularity for Margaret River products, so much so that she left a career at Woodside Energy to open Proost in London Court.
“I used to be a petroleum engineer. Woodside went through a transition and I decided that I wanted to do this. I had done my MBA and I wanted to develop myself and I couldn’t do that at Woodside,” she said.
Ms Lagenijk said the shop had been busy since opening and that she, like her Hillarys and Subiaco counterparts, was also experiencing a demand for corporate hampers.
She said the idea for her store came from a trip to Italy.
“I went there for a holiday and they have these Enotica shops,” Ms Lagenijk said.
“What you do is taste food while having wine. I thought it was fantastic and thought Perth would be fantastic for that type of thing.”
Ms Lagenijk searched for potential sites and thought London Court would provide a good mix of tourists and CBD shoppers.
She opened as Proost, which means cheers in Dutch, a name that would have suited her original concept.
“I then found out about liquor licensing and how difficult it is, so I am just doing food at the moment,” Ms Lagenijk said.
Panache Gourmet Food and Wine principal Jo Grist’s plans for her store were also held up by liquor licensing authorities, but she said waiting 18 months to secure the licence meant she could position her store as a destination for wine tasting events.
“My main efforts are to build on the tourism market and targeting them before they even get here,” said Ms Grist, who hosts regular wine tasting events that are usually matched with produce from WA regional suppliers.
“We’re now trying to promote other regions and I’ve been trying to source more Swan Valley products.”
“I think WA wine has paved the way for food tourism. You just have to say ‘Margaret River’ and people want to snap it up.”
- Kelvin Bartholomeusz