EXCLUSIVE
One of Melbourne’s hospitality heavyweights says there would be “no chance” he would let Daniel Andrews eat in his bustling pub, making him the latest in a growing number of venue operators to list in the blacklisting of the former Victorian prime minister.
Former AFL star Paul Dimattina, who runs the popular Lamaro’s Hotel in South Melbourne, said the former premier was “easily the most hated person” in Victoria after it was revealed several Melbourne restaurant owners snubbed Cath’s service to Andrews and his wife.
“There is no hope of Andrews getting a seat in my pub,” Dimattina told Daily Mail Australia.
‘If he came in and sat down…the Lamaro crowd would be upset if they saw him…Andrews is hated for all his anti-business stance.
‘The trail of destruction Andrews left is still felt today, small businesses closed, endless closures, critical healthcare neglected, children out of school… he helped no one.
“Mental health went downhill and now Andrews has a job in mental health, if you can believe it.”
Dimattina, who has owned several venues in Melbourne after his 131-game career with the Western Bulldogs ended in 2003, said Andrews also “absolutely crippled” the hospitality industry.
The former AFL champion midfielder experienced personal hardship during Victoria’s prolonged lockdowns as he and his family struggled to keep their hospitality businesses open.
Former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews (above with wife Cath) is blacklisted from Melbourne venues, and now a key member of a famous hotel family has moved against him.
Paul Dimattina in his days as a Western Bulldogs player
“Business was decimated, the CBD is a ghost town, once the thriving restaurants close, it’s the same on all the main streets, Chapel St, Lygon St, there are empty businesses everywhere,” he said.
“What Andrews did was make running a small business not an easy thing… he’d be better off leaving the state, I’m sure there are some people who still love him, lefties and all, but he’s not welcome anywhere.” side and us”. We’ll all be better off not seeing him here.
Andrews’ latest ban is a negative sign for his hopes of dining out in Melbourne, given that Dimattina’s family owns and has owned several restaurants in the city, including along the famous Lygon Street district.
Rebel News correspondent Avi Yemini said “many people hate” Andrews because they consider him “responsible for the current state of Victoria”.
“They are frustrated that they have never been held accountable for their decisions or actions, no matter how reckless or potentially corrupt they may have been,” Mr Yemini said.
‘Victorians endured the longest and harshest lockdowns in the world, and many lost everything.
‘Meanwhile, Andrews left with a substantial taxpayer-funded pension and a cushy new job.
“It is understandable that those who feel let down will resent him.”
Yemini said that if he owned a restaurant he wouldn’t give Andrews a reservation either.
Melbourne hospitality heavyweight Paul Dimattina at his Lamaro’s Hotel pub
Andrews has been banned from trendy south Melbourne gastropub, above
Andrews’ latest ban is a negative sign for his hopes of dining out in Melbourne, given that Dimattina’s family owns and has owned several restaurants in the city, including along the famous Lygon Street district (pictured by stock above).
“I wouldn’t want that criminal anywhere near my restaurant or club,” he said.
“It’s bad for business.”
The latest pile-up came after it was revealed Andrews and his wife were denied bookings at popular Melbourne restaurants during the Covid pandemic.
Andrew’s blacklists were reported to be revenge by the city’s hospitality industry for the state’s long and strict lockdown.
Restaurateur Chris Lucas revealed that when Mr Andrews’ wife Cath called to book a table at his Windsor restaurant Hawker Hall, located in the once-bustling Melbourne Chapel St district, he told her: “Sorry, no is available”.
Lucas revealed that Di Stasio, a famous Melbourne restaurant group that is not part of his hotel group, also denied Andrews a reservation for his birthday around the same period.
Both Lucas and Di Stasio’s owner Rinaldo Di Stasio were openly critical of Andrews’ hardline approach to Covid, which saw Melbourne suffer the longest lockdowns in the world, crippling the city’s once famous hospitality industry.
Restaurant king Chris Lucas at a Sydney event in 2018
‘He has his own cross to bear, but we are allowed to disagree, right? We live in a democracy,” Lucas said recently to Australian financial review.
Lucas Group counts several Melbourne dining institutions among its restaurants, including Grill Americano, Kisumé, Society and Chin Chin.
“To simply come out and demand that these powers be granted in an unprecedented way smacks of insensitivity. “Frankly, we are sick of this,” Lucas said of the tough Covid lockdowns at Andrews.
He later said in 2022: ‘We are a shadow of the industry we were before Covid.
“Two years of lockdown caused us so much trauma, not only financially, but emotionally, that it left a lot of scars on this city.”
Restaurants were not the only venues to turn their backs on Andrews following his controversial approach to Covid.
Members of the prestigious Melbourne National Golf Club, on the Mornington Peninsula, banded together last year to block Andrews’ interest in joining.
Andrews now works in the mental health sector.
A letter sent to the club committee stated that more than 100 members “expressed a clear stance against” his potential membership.
“I am seeking assurances to myself and my colleagues that, should Daniel Andrews express interest in joining the National Golf Club, his application would be subject to the standard membership approval process,” the letter said.
There were also rumors that Andrews wanted to join the exclusive Portsea Golf Club, but he was also rejected.
Andrews was Victorian premier for almost nine years before resigning at the end of 2023 and taking a new role at Orygen, a mental health organisation.