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UTS Gehry building cafe 80 overcomes curly issues

Scott Bolles
Scott Bolles

Select spot: Ali Lucato and Andrew Zafiropoulos' new cafe.
Select spot: Ali Lucato and Andrew Zafiropoulos' new cafe.Janie Barrett

Andrew Zafiropoulos​ knew opening a food operation in the $180 million Frank Gehry-designed Dr Chau Chak Wing Building at the University of Technology, Sydney was never going to be easy.

"That's why we called it 80. There was a quote from a bricklayer saying he normally lays hundreds and hundreds of bricks a day, but this building was so complex here that he'd do only about 80," Zafiropoulos says.

The just-opened 80 had its own hurdles. The architects' exacting eye meant even the choice of chairs had to be approved by Gehry's office.

The restaurateur says the endless curves of the building often made craftsmen curse. "If we even want to hang a picture on the wall, we need to go back to head office," Zafiropoulos says. Protecting a landmark building, even one described as a "beautiful squashed bag" is serious business.

Zafiropoulos, pictured with partner and head chef Ali Lucato​, is proud of the result. The breakfast, lunch and dinner venue has a wide pitch, given its catchment attracts students and the well-heeled. Lucato, who has worked in Italy and local restaurants, including North Bondi Italian, produces dishes such as grilled polenta with wild mushrooms.

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

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