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500-seat Paper Mill mega venue brings top designer and chef to Liverpool

Scott Bolles
Scott Bolles

Karima Group's John Sahyoun at the historic Paper Mill building in Liverpool, where 500-seat mega food venue, including The Firepit, is set to open
Karima Group's John Sahyoun at the historic Paper Mill building in Liverpool, where 500-seat mega food venue, including The Firepit, is set to openSupplied

Jason Chow, a manager at Aria and Chiswick restaurants for nearly a decade, has enlisted in the growing hospitality army hitched to one of Sydney's hottest restaurant trends.

Want to know where the smart restaurant money is going? Look west.

Chow has been appointed general manager at a 500-seat mega food venue at The Paper Mill, which includes The Firepit restaurant, Shepherd's Lane Cafe, Georgie's Pizza & Bar, Charcoal Joe's Lebanese Charcoal Chicken and The Paper Mill Events. The precinct is set to open in July in Liverpool.

In an increasingly common model for western Sydney, the Paper Mill project has drafted one of Sydney's top designers and a chef from a leading inner-city restaurant.

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Chow confirmed Paul Papadopoulos​ (Alpha, Lotus Restaurant) has designed it and Nader Shayeb, formerly of Surry Hills' Nour restaurant, will be executive chef.

"There'll be seafood and meat, but we'll also do charcoal chicken. There's always charcoal chicken in the west," he says.

Where parts of the central Sydney CBD and surrounds are nearing or at restaurant saturation, Chow argues the west is still under-supplied.

He says the Paper Mill project, which is backed and run by John Sahyoun's Karima Group, is similar to Coogee Pavilion in having several offerings under one roof.

"There's coffee as you come in, there's a pizza offering, a wood grill and a dessert bar."

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Over in Rooty Hill, the coming West HQ development has signed the team from China Doll, and established city chefs Sean Connolly and Steve Manfredi will also open eateries there.

Parramatta has been adding named restaurants for several years, and Good Food hears there are a couple of new big names set to join them.

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

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