Little Truffle's Daniel Ridgeway to bring Bin 72 to Coolangatta's The Strand

Daniel Ridgeway, owner of Mermaid Beach's popular French restaurant Little Truffle is opening a venue in The Strand retail complex on Marine Parade in Coolangatta, where it was announced Gelato Messina will open in February next year.

Joining him will be Meyjitte Boughenout and Arnault Ollivier, owners of Absynthe French Restaurant at Surfers Paradise, who are jumping on the current trend and launching a fast food venture - Burger Trap.

"We are taking burgers to the next level by offering diners the healthy options they demand. Burger Trap will set the benchmark," Boughenout says.

Burger Trap will feature burgers such as a tuna sashimi and a smoked beef pattie as well as a display of beef, lamb, chicken, pork and vegetarian burger patties to take home and cook.

Meanwhile Ridgeway's venture, Bin 72, will be based on his successful Burleigh Heads bar Bin 12, which features on-trend bar food rather than his formal European diner, Little Truffle, with a few larger plate options and a focus on older red wines.

Ridgeway says there's been a shift in restaurants catering purely to a tourist market and that they are now looking closer to home for diners and drinkers.

"Five or 10 years ago, locals would have to go to the main hubs like Broadbeach because there wasn't much in the immediate area but things have changed."

So is Coolangatta set to be the next Burleigh?

"Next to Burleigh, Coolly is my second favourite area; there's a lot going on and it's really an up-and-coming area," Ridgeway says.

With 12 metres of window frontage to the beach, he's bagged pole position in the complex.

Both venues are scheduled to open on November 7.