News
One of the leading lights in the Valley entertainment scene for the past two decades has called last drinks as a venue owner with a swipe at the “incompetent” legislators largely behind his decision to quit the industry.
Stephen Fitzgerald, long-time owner of iconic Ric’s in the Valley and the adjoining popular Fat Boys Cafe, told The Independent: “I’ve been a licensee in Australia in all states over three decades, and I’ve learnt there’s something worse than corruption and that’s incompetence. And right now we have some of the most incompetent legislators in control.
“The Hill Song Brigade and (Queensland Premier) Bligh scare the shit out of me more than a guy with a broken glass or a knife.”
Asked whether red tape and government regulations were making it harder for licensees to conform and make a living, Mr Fitzgerald said: “It’s impossible to conform because the governments change the legislation before you’ve had time to comply or before that legislation has been in place long enough to see if it works. And those changes are now media driven [and are] not good government policy.”
Mr Fitzgerald, whose beer trade at Ric’s was stubbie based, said the prospects of licensed venues such as Ric’s having to put beer or wine into plastic cups had also helped hasten his decision to move on.
“The threat of compulsory use of plastic cups was the last straw,” Mr Fitzgerald said. “A vibrant cafe society has an aesthetic and there’s no aesthetic in drinking your favourite wine or beer out of a plastic tumbler like a toddler. Maybe we could all abstain and become tea toddlers.”
Asked to detail his most costly run-in with authorities over his time in hospitality in the Valley, Mr Fitzgerald said: “Just over four years ago a malicious complaint caused QFRS (Queensland Fire and Rescue Service) to inspect the building Ric’s occupies. They deemed the building classification was wrong and gave us a notice to install sprinklers and alarms at a cost of more than $120,000, with 60 days to comply.
“We disagreed but tried to get a contractor to do the work. The construction boom was on and we couldn't get the work done within six months. QFRS and OLGR (the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing) closed us down before we could resolve this. I was stunned; we had been operating for over 11 years prior. We lost $500,000 in revenue and five staff by the time we found the right avenue of appeal which was the High Court.
“We won, on the provision we supplied the QFRS with the certificate of classification (COC). Until then we were allowed to operate at 50 per cent capacity. We waited 12 months for a coherent reply from the Brisbane City Council as to the COC which it eventuated had been lost in the system around 1992. The only resolution was a new COC . “The legals, the certifier, the architect, the builder were heading for $250,000. The only way we could get the certifier to write the COC was to install alarms, more toilets and a ramp, totalling $150,000. So we had to placate the certifier to get his COC out before we could satisfy the QFRS.
“We got the COC in our hands in January this year about the same time OLGR hit us up for $20,000 for trading after midnight. It was shortly after this I started waking up at 4am and thinking: “Hey I think it’s time to move on."
Below are other questions put to Mr Fitzgerald and his answers:
Q: There’s been an explosion in the number of licensed premises in the Valley since your first foray into hospitality here in May 1991 with the cafe Red Hot & Blue. Does your departure, from Ric’s especially, suggest it’s perhaps becoming too hard to make a decent living with all that competition?
A: The competition is good and the diversity is great. Look at the accolades Gourmet traveller, in-flight magazines, Vogue, rolling stone, etc, have given to all of us at various times – something the trash media don’t mention when they’re focused on violence and alcohol abuse. The danger is entertainment precincts become tourist destinations rather than liveable communities so the hoards come in on the weekend and the rest of the week is a ghost town. With urban renewal comes property price rises the rents go up the kids cant live in the area so you get a theme park or a retirement gated community rather than an arts precinct.
Q: The local chamber of commerce has endorsed the push for small boutique bars catering to a very small number of patrons. A welcome addition, or will it just make life harder for established venues such as Ric's?
A: This is a great idea and what Ric’s should have been classified as years ago.
Q: You’ve been a solid supporter of local, live music for all the time you’ve had Ric’s. How do you rate that scene now with, say 15 years ago, and are there enough outlets for emerging bands to strut their stuff before a live audience.
A: There are more venues than ever in every capital city. The problem is the bands are not pulling the crowds and that has nothing to do with their talent, but again that’s a cycle. In 10 years the scene will be very exciting when the current baby boom hits their teens.
Q: The VEP is Australia’s first designated entertainment precinct. Is it here to stay, or will those who now question the wisdom of concentrating licensed premises in one small area win the day and we’ll see the VEP wound back?
A: They’ll renege on it for sure.
Q: You’re walking out of here after a lifetime in hospitality. Will you be back with a new venue some day?
A: I’m turning 52 next week. We’ve put on a gig 365 days a year for 15 years which must be up there with some record. I’d like to find another circus for a couple of more shows after I’ve written the memoir expose of the last one.
Last drinks: Stephen Fitzgerald pours a farewell drink at Ric's, while a friend checks to make sure he comforms with the venue's dress code.
