ALAIN Gaudet has long wanted to operate a restaurant in the Swan Valley, but recent efforts to realise his dream have come at a cost.
ALAIN Gaudet has long wanted to operate a restaurant in the Swan Valley, but recent efforts to realise his dream have come at a cost.
Mr Gaudet and his wife, Julie, opened the Mallard Duck on October 25 after selling the well-established Guildford restaurant, Isadora's, earlier in the year.
But the Henley Brook venture may not have attracted the Gaudets' attention if an earlier deal to buy into an established restaurant had gone ahead.
The verbal agreement fell through at the last moment, but not before Mr Gaudet had sold the Isadora's premises.
And when the next opportunity to buy came along - the Mallard Duck - the global credit crunch was biting hard.
Plans for an immediate upgrade at "the Duck" were complicated when the Gaudets were unable to sell their Woodbridge home in the depressed real estate market.
But Mr Gaudet is philosophical about his original lost opportunity.
In hindsight, he admits they should have secured a binding sale agreement before putting Isadora's on the market.
In a way, the break provided an opportunity for the Gaudets to recharge their batteries after a decade in the industry.
Now they have the task of building up their new restaurant - which will be renamed Isadora's in the Valley next year - in a depressed market.
"I am optimistic that Isadora's in the Valley will become a tourist attraction and we are fortunate in having a lot of passing traffic," Mr Gaudet said.
With a healthy, affordable menu, views over a large pond popular with wild ducks in a two-hectare rural setting and alpacas roaming on the other side of the water, the Gaudets believe they have the ingredients for success.
Plans to upgrade the restaurant include enclosing the dining area with permanent windows, erecting a water feature in the pond, and establishing an alfresco area in a garden setting at pond level.
After the toilet facilities have been upgraded, Mr Gaudet plans to upgrade from BYO to a full licence with an inside lounge area.
At present, about half of the 80 seats in the upper level restaurant overlook the pond ,while the alfresco area alongside the pond will provide a further 40 seats.
When this work has been carried out, the restaurant will be relaunched as Isadora's in the Valley. In the meantime, the Duck will continue to trade much as before, albeit with a new menu.
"Our aim is to replicate what we did at Isadora's, to bring the premises to another level, taking advantage of the magnificent vista, to become a meeting place for lunch, coffee and cakes and private functions," Mr Gaudet told WA Business News.
Not one for letting grass grow under his feet, Mr Gaudet, a trained hairdresser, still cuts hair for long-time clients, is a DJ for hire and a volunteer drive-time announcer at Capital 90.5.
