We kind of look at Pierre’s as a freight train and we just have a fancy sort of carriage on the side where we’re able to make the freight train work more efficiently. “It’s been a very welcome addition. It’s very busy, but manageable. The most surprising part of it, the forecasts that we thought we’d be achieving around the three or four month mark once we’d sort of settled in, that was week one. We were hitting our full 100 per cent capacity projections, so that was brilliant and there’s still a little bit more scope for it to be a bit busier. I think we had 130 people through on the first night and we’re averaging about 260-270 cocktails a night.” The Johnston’s took over Pierre’s, which has been an Italian institution in Launceston for more than 60 years, in February 2020, building on a history which includes welcoming Australia’s first commercial espresso machine in 1956 when known as Pierre’s Café and Brasserie. In the past two years Lauren has noticed a significant shift in Launceston’s culinary reputation. “People are keen, they want to do something after they go to the theatre or after dinner. There’s a real sort of vibrancy in the city and I feel like there’s also quite a few events being drawn into the city and it’s keeping people here,” she says. “Rather than like one night in Launceston and five nights in Hobart, people are starting to make their trips longer, and having three
or four nights in Launceston and three or four nights in Hobart. That I feel is down to a really strong food and artisanal producers’ scene up here. There’s a lot going on, not just in restaurants, but there’s a really big agriculture scene and there’s lots of things that you can do. They’re really discerning foodies that are in now. It’s great, really attracting that sort of food tourist.” Lauren also expects the bustling CBD to only become busier as more international tourists descend on Tasmania. “The diners that we’re getting in are sort of more of that high-end discerning tourist diners, rather than the bus groups that go around and get a photo opportunity, grab some chocolates and get back on the bus. You don’t see that anymore at all. We’re seeing a lot of self-made tours and groups, small groups of people getting around. “We’ve had people in from Singapore, from Hong Kong, from Denmark. This is just in one night. There are people traveling all over the place, the internationals are back. Not lots, but the ones that are here are really quality and they’re booking in advance and they have their itinerary sorted. I feel like that’s really interesting for Launceston. It’s just a matter of making sure that everyone can keep up to the scale of what’s coming because all of the pieces need to work together.”
MIDNIGHT RAMBLER HAS RECENTLY OPENED IN LAUNCESTON, BRINGING AN AMERICAN-STYLE SPEAKEASY DIVE BAR TO THE CITY
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