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One of Southgate’s premier dining tenants has left the city shopping centre, saying standards have slipped while rents have remained the same.
Southbank stalwart Pure South Dining has suddenly shut its doors after 21 years of trade, leaving the beleaguered Southgate shopping centre without a hatted restaurant. Owners Philip Kennedy and Peter Leary handed the keys back to the landlords on Monday evening after ongoing issues with the tenancy.
“Southgate is falling apart,” says Kennedy, citing broken escalators, ongoing roof leaks and broken air-conditioning.
Beyond that, the tone of the building has changed, reducing custom and amenity. “There are more empty spaces than occupied spaces in what used to be a fine-dining precinct,” he says, citing once-hot (and long-departed) restaurants Walter’s Wine Bar and Scusa Mi.
Casual diner Blue Train, a tenant since 1993, closed in February after a dispute with the landlord ended in the Supreme Court.
“Now, they’ve removed escalators to put a play centre next to us,” says Kennedy. “It’s not worth the fight if you’re paying pre-COVID rent in a post-COVID Melbourne.”
When Good Food reviewed Pure South in 2024, awarding it one Good Food hat, Kennedy noted that annual rent was nearly $1 million.
On a good day, Pure South would serve 750 meals in its casual downstairs dining areas and look after 150 fine dining customers upstairs. Almost all ingredients were from Tasmania and Bass Strait islands, most of them sourced directly from small producers.
Guy Robertson supplied free-range, rare-breed pork from Mount Gnomon Farm, west of Devonport in northern Tasmania. “It’s a sad thing to hear Pure South is closed,” he says. “They were committed because they truly believed Tasmanian produce was the best. It wasn’t a gimmick, it wasn’t for social media, they built relationships and they genuinely cared. They made you feel part of something.”
Pure South owners and staff would make frequent trips to Tasmania to visit suppliers, and hosted them at regular showcase dinners. “I consider the producers part of our team,” says Kennedy.
Business closures often come with a litany of unpaid bills. “There are no horror stories like that here,” says Kennedy. “All our suppliers are still our friends: we’ve paid them all. We’ve been here for 84 quarters in a row and we’ve paid all our business activity statements, super and obligations.”
The emotions are raw, though. “I’m a little bit numb. It’s been my whole life for the last 20 years but I’m really proud of what we’ve done,” says Kennedy.
He will spend more time at Ocean Dunes Golf Course on King Island in Tasmania, where he is building a hotel with a hospitality offering. “If we can’t bring King Island beef to Melbourne, maybe we’ll just have to bring Melbourne people to King Island for some beef,” he says.
ESR Australia & New Zealand manages Southgate on behalf of owners Suntec and PIP. They declined to comment, but Good Food understands they consider Pure South has breached their lease and legal action may be forthcoming.
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