1. 20 RESTAURANT & CATERING
Cover story
Mother and daughter Shirley Struk and Deanne Bond could
be considered eastern Sydney’s accidental restaurateurs.
However, persistence, patience and pragmatism have
seen this hard-working duo turn a derelict beachfront
building into an award-winning eatery, popular with
tourists and locals alike. Tracey Porter reports
Double
vision

2. RESTAURANT & CATERING 21
A
casual mid-
morning
stroll turned
Shirley Struk’s
plans for early
retirement on
their ear.
The former
accountant’s year-long sabbatical from
a high-profile banking job to nurse her
ailing parents was drawing to a close and
Struk was looking forward to handing in
her notice to wile away her days treading
the sand and lunching with friends.
But then she saw it. “It was a
dilapidated building at the heart of
the Maroubra Promenade [in Sydney’s
eastern suburbs] and I knew instinctively
it would make a great restaurant,” says
Struk. Positioned across one level, it was
easily accessible while the space had the
picturesque Arthur Byrne Reserve on
one side and an unobstructed view of
the beautiful eastern seaboard on the
other.
Making a mental note to ask her
husband to contact Randwick Council
to enquire about the structure, she
continued on her way.
Six months later, the idea was still
percolating when the then 50-year-old
stumbled upon a notice in the paper,
seeking tenders for the very same space.
Having roped in daughter Deanne Bond
who had recently returned to the area
while portable
tables and chairs
were strategically
positioned each
morning to
capture the glint of
the early morning
sunshine and the
might of the renowned
Maroubra surf.
Just months after opening, the
cafe was hit by the after-effects of a near
cyclonic storm that had made its way
from Wollongong, some 100 kilometres
to the south. Rubbish bins were up-
ended and the cafe’s tables and chairs
were found up to 500 metres away. The
council was forced to bring in bulldozers
to move the thousands of cubic metres
of sand that had found their way along
the raised promenade platform and
settled throughout the venue.
This hastened an idea the two women
had been considering to future-proof
the venue. When their re-tender for the
space in 2005 was again successful, the
pair took the opportunity to undertake
a major renovation.
The venue now occupies around 240
square metres of dining and kitchen
space. Struk and Bond added a roof,
commissioned bespoke fold-back glass
doors to make the space fully enclosed,
smartened up its interior and rebirthed
it as the Pavilion Beachfront restaurant.
PHOTOGRAPHY:NICKSCOTT
from a stint
operating a
guesthouse-
cum-winery
in Mudgee,
the pair put in
a joint bid but
was surprised as
any when announced
the winner.
“I did it for Deanne,” says
Struk. “I thought, ‘She needs a job so
let’s do this’. At the same time Deanne
argues that she just ‘went along with’
her mum’s crazy idea. I didn’t think
we’d get it, we’d never done anything
like this before.”
In 2000, they opened the doors
to the casual dining venue they
christened Pavilion Cafe. Struk and
Bond were well aware of its value—it’s
one of the few cafes in Sydney that
occupies absolute beachfront space.
In the early stages, they designed the
sit-down component of the eatery with
little shelter, leaving it largely to the
mercy of the elements.
Demand for a takeaway component
was sated via the addition of a kiosk at
the back of the restaurant to provide
coffees and light refreshments to the
passing trade.
Before long, the pair bought big
plastic windbreaks to combat the full
effects of the area’s frequent gusts
“It was a
dilapidated building
at the heart of
the Maroubra
Promenade and I
knew instinctively
it would make a
great restaurant.”
Shirley Struk, Pavilion
Beachfront co-owner

3. Cover story
“We get the very best and worst of
Mother Nature,” says Struk. “We see
dolphins and whales frolicking in the
sunshine when the water is clear. But
then the southerlies come in here, and
they are very strong. The only beach
that cyclone hit that day was Maroubra.
Half-a-million dollars later we enclosed
it and stopped the wind.”
At the same time as renewing their
existing lease, the duo also had the
foresight to amend their licensing
conditions in favour of a Primary Service
liquor licence that allows the licensee
to serve alcohol to patrons without the
requirement to purchase food.
While Struk and Bond have opted
not to advertise this publicly for fear
of turning their beloved restaurant
from a destination dining facility into
a destination watering hole, Struk says
the move was necessary to appease the
restaurant’s large number of European
tourists who frequently felt aggrieved
when told of the limitations governing
their previous licence.
Evening functions are now tailored
to suit any requirement, whether it’s a
corporate event or a family birthday. The
extended licensing conditions also proved
helpful when the Pavilion trialled evening
dining last November. The move proved
so popular, it’s likely to be repeated
during the following summer months.
Calling the restaurant home for the
22 RESTAURANT & CATERING
The decision to renovate and
rebrand has proved a popular one
among Pavilion patrons with repeat
business now accounting for around
70 per cent of the restaurant’s turnover.
Such is the intimacy between venue
and clientele, Struk says it’s now
become like a little village where “we
know everyone by their coffees, not
necessarily their names”.
Open every day of the year except for
Christmas and Melbourne Cup day, the
restaurant averages around 400 covers
for breakfast and lunch on weekends
and a further 100 or so a day during
the quieter weekdays.
Struk says the glass frontage allows
them to bring the outside indoors
although on stormy days they prefer
to shelter inside, confident in the
knowledge the glass doors are able
to withstand wind gusts of up to
140 kilometres per hour.
Above: Head chef Fransisco
‘Pancho’ Balut favours fresh,
local produce on the menu.
Pavilion Beachfront won
the 2014 Savour Australia
Restaurant & Catering HOSTPLUS
Award for Excellence for Best
Breakfast Restaurant.

4. RESTAURANT & CATERING 23
past five years, head chef Fransisco
‘Pancho’ Balut has settled on a laid-back
menu brimming with fresh local produce
as befits the casual seaside venue.
The menu is changed at least three—
but usually four—times a year. While the
ultimate decision rests with Balut and
Struk, sous chefs also have a chance to
have input in the hope it will help keep
boredom at bay.
Further enticing punters through the
door is the Pavilion’s mid-level price
points, which range from $10 (for a
sour dough bruchetta with chorizo,
cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, onions
and ricotta) to around $25 for the more
lavish lunch dishes. Breakfasts average
around $15 per plate.
Judges too have been quick to
realise the restaurant’s appeal with the
business on the receiving end of several
accolades, the latest of which was being
awarded the Best Breakfast Restaurant in
the 2014 Savour Australia Restaurant
& Catering HOSTPLUS Awards
for Excellence.
While seasonal
variations have their
place, Struk says the
high level of repeat
custom means there
are some menu
staples that cannot
be forsaken. These
include grilled fish
and chips and crispy
skinned Atlantic salmon
which comes in various
guises throughout the year
but at present arrives on a bed
of orange and beetroot salad with
pine nuts, feta and a lemon vinaigrette.
Heavily reliant on local producers
for its seafood, eggs and fruit and
vegetables, Struk says most suppliers
have been with the restaurant since it
first opened its doors 15 years ago.
The beverage list too relies heavily
on domestic wine producers, says
Struk who for nearly 60 years called
the seaside settlement home.
“We keep our wine list quite
varied and we like to keep our prices
reasonable. We’re at Maroubra; we’re
not at Double Bay. We charge $105 for
our Veuve Clicquot champagne which
is a non-vintage variety but still there’s
not much mark-up on that. Most of our
wine list is priced in the mid-$30 range.
The bulk of these are Australian wines.
If New Zealand
didn’t have such
good sauvignon
blancs I wouldn’t have
any from there either.”
With her head for figures, Struk spent
the early days helping Bond work the
floors of the restaurant before heading
home in the evening to meet with
suppliers, settle accounts and liaise with
regulatory bodies. These days she leaves
Bond and the Pavilion’s 12 front-of-
house staff to manage the day-to-day
operation of the restaurant while she
takes charge of the administration side
of the business, including payroll, HR
and marketing.
Struk considers staff resourcing
among the least taxing aspects of her
job due largely to the business’s success
in attracting and retaining good staff.
She credits good communication as key
and argues involving staff in decision-
making also helps achieve buy-in.
One day, says Struk, she’d like to add
an upstairs component to the building
to allow it to host conferences as well
as extend its function capabilities.
But until that day, she must be content
with the fact that Pavilion’s clientele
continues to enjoy the high standard of
service they have come to expect.
“We spend a lot of time, particularly
when we get a new employee on board,
training them—even down to setting
up the tables,” says Struk. “When you
walk in, you’ll find every table is set up
exactly the same with fork and knife
placement a certain distance in from
the side of the table. The staff know;
they’re trained in observing the little
things. It’s a pet hate of mine. I cannot
stand seeing empty plates left on
tables. They’re cleared immediately.
“Before we set up this place, I’d go
to restaurants and pick them apart.
Now I’ve had to put my money where
my mouth is.” 
“Before we set up
this place, I’d go to
restaurants and pick
them apart. Now I’ve
had to put my money
where my mouth is.”
Shirley Struk, Pavilion
Beachfront co-owner