Hi Mel,
Apparently MF RAIN has uncovered a RFC copycat Down Under:
Subject: Re: Yet another Rainforest Cafe out there?
Date: 28 Sep 1997 21:12:44 EDT
From: StkShift5
>> G'Day Mates....
<<For further information contact:
Scott Crebbin, Communications Manager on
9286 0100 or 0412 202077>>
Alright. Who wants to spring for the phone call to down under??????????
Doin' the Wallaby's Wok and Throwin some Mojo Bones on the BarBee,
>>
Howdy mates, once again.
Here is a news flash regarding the activities down under. A couple of months ago, I brought the Australian Rainforest Cafe to the attention of the board here and as fate dished it out, I recently had the opportunity to visit Sydney on a business trip (much better than just a phone call, eh Alan?).
This, of course, was the perfect opportunity to get some reconnaissance in and find out what the local Rainforest here was all about. As you may have expected the first thing I did in Sydney was, nope, not check out the RFC, but run water down the sink to see if it actually went the down with the opposite rotation.
Sydney, with approximately 3 million residents, has been undergoing quite a bit of growth in the last few years. This expansion is expected to continue with the infrastructure being put in place for the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Even though this is a fairly large city, it is spread out with the "down-town" area being quite small actually. From the "Rock" at the northern tip (where the Sydney Opera house is located) its about a 15-20 minute walk
to the city center. Another 10 minutes gets you to Darling Harbour across a small bay towards the western side of the city, which is where the RFC is located.
As we already knew, the RFC is not affiliated with our RFC. The concept is exactly the same with many details "copied" from our RFC. The idea of copying a concept does not appear to be new there. For example they have a chain of Woolworths which is a grocery store -- people normally say, "I'm headed to Wooly's mate", when making a quick trip to pick up some groceries. They also have different naming conventions, like ordering an entree and a
main course, where the entree refers to an appetizer. Almost makes you feel like you ordered two meals.
The Australian RFC is located at the southern end of Darling Harbour (which is a fairly recent fun/entertainment/touristy/shopping area built in the late 80s - and attracts a large number of people, especially on the weekends). Some of the places close by are the IMAX theater (5 minutes walk), the Sega World center, and a sports cafe.
The outside has a large sign with, you guessed it, cha cha sitting at the top. A smaller crocodile (as compared to our RFC) sits in a small pond near the entrance with artificial ivy on the walls. The restaurant is on the 2nd floor (or 1st flr there considering they start with the ground flr) and opens up to a retail area as you walk up. It has some amount of greenery in the main restaurant (much less than our RFC) and does not sport any
fish tanks. The place probably seats about 150 people with only 20 or so people there at about 4pm on a Sunday. The menu concept is also "borrowed" though not as extensive. I did not eat there and so cannot compare the food.
When I asked the person at the main desk about the affiliation with the US RFC, he looked a little sheepish a said that they were not related. Talked to him a bit more and told him that I was from Chicago where they were opening up their third RFC, which seemed to surprise him. Before I left, he gave me a key chain that shows cha cha trying to climb over the restaurant name, with their borrowed restaurant theme "a natural place to eat" below
that, and a phone number at the back. So I guess I now own the only bootleg copy of any RFC merchandise on this board.
All in all a great trip and a good way to get the reconnaissance in.
Bye mates
(end repost)
Glad to hear all is well in Panama and that your retirement plans ( and investments ) are moving along on schedule !! Sounds like you have a busy and enjoyable travel schedule ahead of you. I'll try again tomorrow to reach you by email (about matters of no great urgency.)
Warm regards,
Dennis
Dennis
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