An Open Letter to the Adelaide Festival Centre (Or, food and the AFC, part three)
by Jane
Dear Adelaide Festival Centre,
I know it was a long time ago, and I’m really dredging things out of the past now, but remember a year and a half ago when your kitchen wasn’t open post shows in your bar the Bistro? But then you realised this was a miss-service to the thousands of people you could have through your doors on a typical night, and you changed it?
It has been a really fantastic year, I must say. The chips are no longer my go-to food, but those spiced chickpeas are divine. I love going down there post show for a glass of wine and some bar-snacks. Your website informs me “Bistro by the food business offers idyllic à la carte, pre and post theatre dining experiences,” and who doesn’t love post theatre dining experiences?
Although, maybe the answer is you?
Tonight, I went to the Adelaide Festival Theatre to see A Streetcar with the Adelaide Festival. Afterwards, I planned to take Melbourne theatre critic Cameron Woodhead down to the Bistro for a drink and a debrief on the show. Imagine my surprise when we found ourselves, with several dozen other people who had just been at the show, staring at the locked glass doors to the Dunstan Playhouse foyer.
It was great to introduce someone to this city by telling them the biggest theatre venue in this town doesn’t open its bar on the opening night on one of the biggest theatre productions in the Festival. Really makes us look swell as a happening city where the festival season makes things happen.
It’s nice to know that, once again, as a venue, you’re fine for thousands of people to not sit around to drink, eat, and talk about the work they’ve just seen, engaging beyond sitting inside the theatre itself.
But seriously: I thought we’d worked this out already?
Looking forward to your reply,
Jane
No Plain Jane 
Well said Jane. An ongoing problem. Especially during festival time – I was one of those people! Heartily embarrassed and very thirsty. Can we restore this? Nic
Hi Jane
The Bistro at Adelaide Festival Centre is managed by the private enterprise ‘the food business’. Adelaide Festival Centre works closely with ‘the food business’ to ensure they service the patrons visiting the venue.
Having been residents in the venue for nearly three years, through trial and error ‘the food business’ have made the business decision to be open post show Thursday – Saturday. On the occasions they have remained open early in the week, it has not been commercially viable. From time to time they stay open post show early in the week if venue hirers/promoters request post show drinks for private functions.
On Wednesday 14 March the Bistro was open after the performance in the Dunstan Playhouse, however had closed before the end of the Festival Theatre performance.
We do acknowledge that communication about opening hours of the Bistro during the Festival could have been better communicated.
Hello unnamed face of the AFC,
The arts, as we know them, are a) not a profitable business, and b) are a social business. I am writing this comment from the thriving post-show foyer at the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne, surrounded by dozens of people getting a meal or coffee. I have no doubt Malthouse is doing quite well on the cafe today, but also, there is clearly a culture here of staying and engaging with the venue after the work.
How do you expect people to engage with you as a venue if, like I said, beyond being in the theatre they can only have a drink Thurs-Sat – less than 50% of the time? Of course commercial focus comes into play, but I think it is to the detriment of you as an organisation – and, because you are the biggest theatre in the state, it reflects badly on the whole theatrical culture here.
Not only could the opening hours been better communicated – in that they could have been communicated at all – I would suggest rather than having people trying to walk into locked glass doors maybe you would want to make a sign, telling people they are better off consuming their culture on one of the three prescribed days per week.
Adelaide I love you. But trying to create change becomes so draining. Jane, I agree. Thank you.
Let’s hope ‘The Food Business’ runs a better food business at the Adelaide Festival Centre once the new footbridge and the new restaurant facilities are open.
I often host visitors from interstate and sad to relate, the bistro at the festival Centre has long been a standing joke in terms of how to run a restaurant.
Perhaps the management should be exposed to less captive markets than exist at Carrick Hill or the Festival Centre, in the interests of learning how to serve good food at acceptable prices in a prompt and friendly manner.
Poor quality in a restaurant operation usually stems from the top. Whomever is in charge at The Food Business’ may be the culprit. If that’s the case, why does the Festival Centre persist with such a prominent negative asset?
My advice as a seasoned diner is to get it right, or continue to suffer unnecessary bad publicity.