Before a fire gutted Prospect’s art deco Rosemont Hall in 2021, the two casual eateries it housed, Sunnys Shop and Mr Chan, amassed the type of cult following most restaurant owners can only dream about.
Getting a spot outside on a busy night was practically impossible, while the inside of the 1924-built hall rarely had an empty seat. Between Mr Chan’s yum cha menu and the crisp and crumbly banh mi from Sunnys Shop, locals were hooked.
In the days after the blaze, diners left flowers, letters and cards along the temporary fencing cordoning off the smouldering site.
Very little was salvageable, but owner Aaron Ratanatray knew Rosemont Hall would rise again.
Over the following days and weeks, he began planning a replica, right down to the stripped-back timber look and stained-glass windows.
“We just want it to feel nostalgic … like reuniting with an old friend,” Ratanatray told Broadsheet two years ago.
Now, Rosemont Hall’s second act has begun. Ratanatray – alongside his father, One, and partner Tamara – has painstakingly rebuilt the venue.
“It has been a huge undertaking,” Ratanatray says, speaking to Broadsheet a few weeks after reopening. “But we’re happy and proud to be able to return such a beautiful and significant building to the community.”
While capacity has doubled to 200, very little has changed aesthetically across the two venues. Mr Chan retains its 1920s Shanghai feel, with lanterns, exposed bluestone and rustic wooden beams. And Sunnys Shop still transport diners to sultry Phuket, with bright colours, festoon lighting and tiles sourced from Thailand.
“It has all the ingredients of the original Rosemont Hall but it’s bigger and better – just as we promised,” Ratanatray says.
Dim sum is still the hero of Mr Chan’s menu, alongside old favourites such as Thai green curry, chicken-and-chive dumplings, Peking duck pancakes and cheeseburger spring rolls, and some new ones, like salt-and-pepper squid and steamed barramundi with ginger.
The Sunnys Shop menu focuses on salads, curries, noodle and rice dishes, with many new offerings – including laksa chicken curry puffs, which Ratanatray is already declaring a crowd-pleaser.
He says it’s gratifying to see original customers coming back to the table two years on.
“The community support has been overwhelming. We are fully booked every night of the week, and in today’s business climate … I’m so grateful to have survived and thrived. It feels like a phoenix rising from the ashes.”
Rosemont Hall
106 Prospect Road, Prospect
(08) 8420 0999
Hours:
Mon to Fri 11.30am–3pm, 5pm–9:30pm
Sat & Sun 5pm–10pm
