Could Lorne be the site of Merivale's next Totti's restaurant?

Speculation regarding Merivale's transformation of The Lorne Hotel on Victoria's Great Ocean Road has become rife in the past week after the announcement that current ground-floor tenant MoVida was moving out in June.

It's rumoured that the Sydney-based hospitality group, led by Justin Hemmes, will unveil another iteration of its Italian trattoria, Totti's, before year's end. The first Totti's opened in Bondi in 2018 and has since been rolled out to Rozelle and Sydney's CBD.

But the Hemmes camp says they are still at the drawing board when it comes to revamping Lorne's 146-year-old pub, which it bought in May 2021.

"We are still working on the final concept for Lorne and focusing on MoVida's final weeks for now," Hemmes said via email.

The Lorne property will be Merivale's first opening in Victoria, building on its stable of 80-plus venues in Sydney and regional NSW. A venue in Tomasetti House on Flinders Lane will open in early 2023, led by former Mr Wong chef Jowett Yu.

Chef Matt Germanchis was appointed executive chef of the Lorne project last September, bringing experience from Captain Moonlite, Pei Modern and MoVida. He and partner Gemma Gange are handing over their Anglesea seafood shop and fish-and-chipper, Fish by Moonlite, to new owners on June 12 to free him up for the Merivale role.

MoVida was installed at The Lorne Hotel in December 2018 by previous owners the Upham family. Chef Frank Camorra has stated he always knew that Merivale would have its own plans for the site.

Coda, which has been on the third floor of the pub since December 2020, has confirmed to Good Food it is staying put for now.

Merivale has several venues-within-venues arrangements at pubs across Sydney.