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Tourist venture proposed at Maleny entrance |
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Written by Administrator
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Monday, 13 June 2005 |
Josef and Naomi Zehnder have a dream to turn their 103 acre property
into a tourist drawcard at the gateway to Maleny. The couple have
applied to Caloundra City Council to build a restaurant just after the
Icebox on the way in to Maleny.
Its entrance will be about 300 metres past the Icebox on the left hand side of the Maleny-Landsborough Road. But the application had copped some criticism from people worried about the architecture of the restaurant and about it impeding views of the Glasshouse Mountains from the road.
Mr Zehnder acknowledged people?s criticism. But he said a proposed car park and viewing platform would make the views more accessible, not less. ?People will be able to safely park and view the mountains from the platform, for free of course. They can pull in, look at the Glasshouse Mountains, and then drive away. It?s good for tourism. It?s basically good for the community.? He said the restaurant would be 18 metres down the slope from the main road and built into the hillside but acknowledged it would still be visible from the road.
The restaurant would complement a vineyard and homestead that is being developed on the plateau 75 metres below to cover about 40 acres of the 103 acre block.
?We?re looking at wine production and vinegar production from the grapes,??Mr Zehnder said. ?And that?s basically done on site. The reason we are doing it is to earn a living off the rural land and one of the main drivers of the restaurant is to make the view accessible to the wider community and to educate the public about wine and about bush foods.
?We?re using local produce, providing the community with jobs and we?re trying to do everything as environmentally friendly as possible,?? said Naomi.
Photo Above: Naomi and Josef Zehnder near the site of the proposed restaurant which will have views over the rest of their block and onwards to the Glasshouse Mountains.
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Range News 2005 - ON 
