Local family takes over

It is out with the old and in with the new as Flippin’ Fresh officially reopens with a new look and Torquay’s latest bar.

Locals Sam and Tim Richmond have taken over the business, with quality fish and chips on one side and the new bar serving seafood tapas on the other.

With the help of friends and family and many late nights, after three weeks of renovations, the bar and tapas side of the business was able to open on Friday last week.

Sam and Tim purchased the business when they decided it was time to do something for themselves, and Tim had always wanted to do a fish and chip shop.

“It’s been in the pipeline for a long time, but no shops turned up in Torquay North because that’s where I wanted to do a fish and chip shop.

“So that was the that was the original plan, then this one came up and we thought this would be great and it had the potential for the tapas bar as well.”

The fish and chip side of the business has been trading since they took over, also undergoing a facelift, with the kitchen now a lot more open for customer interaction.

Sam and Tim are no strangers to the hospitality industry, having owned Torquay’s Surfrider Café.

Tim was a chef for 15 years before becoming a concreter, returning to the kitchen he has already made improvements to Flippin’ Fresh’s quality of food, hand-cutting all the pieces of flake and implementing a new filtering system for the fryers.

Sam comes from a long line of women in hospitality, with her family previously owning Geelong’s Sawyers Arms Tavern.

The couple’s two daughters, Lucy and Claudia, have jumped on board the family business, helping with the fitout, refurbishment and behind the scenes admin.

Where possible, the business is trying to keep everything as local as they can, using suppliers around the area.

Sam said the bar renovations have turned out better than what she had pictured.

“The vision was just that really Mediterranean vibe.

“We really wanted people to come in here and feel like they’re on a Greek island, and you get that feeling instantly, which is great.”

Tim said their goal is to produce consistent trade with really good food and to be known as the intimate bar where people can catch up without feeling too formal.

“We just want people to feel comfortable about coming into this new bar and giving it a go.”

The tapas bar is open from Thursday to Monday and the fish and chip side trades seven days a week.

For more information, head to their Instagram page @flippinfreshtorquay_ or Flippin’ Fresh on Facebook.