Establishing a fine dining restaurant in Belconnen was never going to be an easy task for the owners of the new Sogni D’oro.
Located on the ground floor of the Waterside apartments in Belconnen, the restaurant with its Italian inspired menu has already provided another level of dining for the residents of the area.
Although the aim for the restaurant is service with an emphasis on fine dining, the lunchtime menu is a little more casual with an atmosphere that does not intimidate the customers.
The decision however to buy the restaurant by the new co-owners came from nothing more than taking advantage of a good situation.
“It’s a matter of everything falling into the right place at the right time. Opportunity, motivation and timing, it all just happened right to go ahead with it.” Co-owner Vaughan Carder said.
Head chef and co-owner Petre Krsteski believes with the redevelopment of the Westfield Mall opposite their restaurant, the whole area will get a boost and new vibe. “I think Belconnen is ready for it. There are apartments being built round the corner, and a lot more professional people living and working in the area.”
Luckily for the owners, their restaurant is situated in the ideal spot in Belconnen. Overlooking the Lake, the restaurant gets uninterrupted views onto dedicated park lands that will never be developed.
Before becoming involved with Sogni D’oro, both owners who are originally from Canberra, and already had experience in the hospitality and management industry.
“It is a new thing and we are still learning, but we have had experience before in other areas of the business.” Mr Krsteski said. “We just want to have a signature restaurant in Belconnen.”
Not wanting to expand too quickly on the one business is the next challenge for these co-owners. Instead, they hope to place more emphasis and stay focused on getting it right at the one restaurant for now.
Believing that the general public is evolving and that a third of the population of Canberra lives in the Belconnen area, they have high regard for their customers who will appreciate the introduction of a fine dining venue. For them it’s about providing quality that is offered no where else in the area.
The advice given to other restaurant entrepreneurs would be research, research, research and expect to spend more. Also being able to accept fact that not everything is going to go the way that you want, and having lots of family and friends you can call on.
Sogni D’oro is open for lunch and dinner from Wednesday to Sunday.
Also, click here to check out the exclusive Sogni D’oro discount offers on OutInCanberra this month.
