The temptation to leave this article at simply the above photo was phenomenally high, but detail is needed in this day and age so we proceed:
A steakhouse in the inner-northern Melbourne suburb of Carlton has been forced to close its doors after residents in neighbouring apartment buildings complained that the place smelled of steak. Yes.
The Longhorn Saloon, situated on Elgin St near the corner of Rathdowne, shut its doors on Friday after the Melbourne City Council slugged the business with an improvement order that business owners insist would cost them in excess of $100,000.
The business, which has been open and operating since early 2015, received a series of complaints from residents in a neighbouring apartment building who insisted the smell from the kitchen was “offensive and constituted a nuisance.”
Chief among the residents complaints is the fact that the restaurant “smells like burnt wood, then later it smells like burnt steak.” Residents also complained about the noise being emitted from the kitchen’s extractor fans.
Restaurant owner Will Balleau stated that the improvement order was issued by the council in late March, despite multiple prior inspections of the premises with no issues raised. He likened the issue to a resident moving into a house next door to a pub and then complaining about the noise.
“I’ve laid off my staff, it’s been a nightmare, it’s been the most stressful thing I’ve had to deal with since I started my business.”
“Cooking steaks and fries is not criminal nuisance.”
The building that houses Longhorn Saloon has operated other restaurants for prior to the steakhouse moving in in 2015, but the immediate apartment building next-door, which has west-facing balconies overlooking the restaurant building, only completed construction in 2010.
The improvement order, according to Balleau, included work that would’ve cost the business $100,000. The restaurant can appeal, but they face a $93,000 fine if the order is defied.
The City of Melbourne issued a statement asserted that the timeframe the restaurant was given, which at this stage clocks in at about three weeks max, was sufficient.
“We will continue to work with them to ensure they are given the opportunity to improve the operation of their ventilation systems.”
In the meantime the 400-capacity restaurant, which was previously open six nights a week, remains closed.
Source: The Age.
Photo: Longhorn Saloon/Instagram.
