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Double Bay cinema site to become a food hub

Scott Bolles
Scott Bolles

Michel Rossetti will open a new food venture at the site of the old Double Bay cinema.
Michel Rossetti will open a new food venture at the site of the old Double Bay cinema.Ardyn Bernoth

When the Greater Union cinema on New South Head Road in Double Bay closed in 2004, it was cited as a major contributor to the downturn in the ritzy postcode. Now the redeveloped building is set to join the rash of new food operators jumping back into DB.

Northside restaurateur Michel Rossetti, owner of a stable of venues including Mosman's Pizza Pasta Bene and the soon-to-reopen Cala Luna at The Spit, is investing heavily in the old cinema site in Double Bay. Next January he'll open a restaurant, bakery and a new food concept based on an old tradition: bartering. "We are doing a trading room facing the laneway behind the building. You can come in and have a coffee or buy some produce, but it'll have a fulltime valuer," says Rossetti. "Locals might come in and swap some fresh herbs out of their garden for some eggs off our farm in the Southern Highlands. Or they might bring in a bike and swap it for some fruit and veg."

Rossetti hopes the idea will help him engage with the local community, and says it is built on years of practice: his father traded some cows for a new bathroom and he's swapped weddings for sailing trips. Rossetti is negotiating with a baker and chef to join the project before its January launch. "I won't be doing Italian at the restaurant. I don't want it to be restricted to just one cuisine. Double Bay is ready [for new things]."

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Scott BollesScott Bolles writes the weekly Short Black column in Good Food.

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