The extent of Riceboi's popularity was unexpected, though welcomed, by Tony Kelly and his team. The original restaurant had not been designed to cater for the huge number of covers and constant flow of hungry diners visiting The Wharf Mooloolaba. We were engaged to redesign the kitchen to increase productivity and reduce workflow issues, and to design a destinctly styled, casual beer garden which would house an extra 130+ punters.

One of the aesthetic constraints was that the design would sit well within The Wharf's Hampton's style, while retaining a strong conection to the existing restaurant, with it's grungey, low brow Asian feel. These styles aren't known for co-existing, so CAB ROTO's lead designer developed a concept that struck the balance between the contrasting aesthetics.

The Wharf management and Riceboi crew were immediately on board after the first presentation, so we set about developing the design which included sketch plans, high quality renderings and 360° interactive panoramic images.

Due to tight lead time and budget constraints, buy-in furniture was sourced by the Riceboi team to indicative selections made by CAB ROTO. Although some pieces were not of our typical level of quality, they worked with the casual feel creating an eclectic mix.

The extensive landscaping and overhead planters were paramount to creating the relaxed garden vibe, which will only be enhanced as the space ages and planting matures.

The incororation of dead trees into the external area saw the designer, Kristen Calle, the client, Tony Kelly and the lessor, Dirk Long make the trip to a property a couple of hours north west to select and retreive over a dozen dead hardwood trees. Some heavy lifting by all involved created a great effect.

Riceboi Beer Garden is now open for lunch, dinner and drinks every day, but arrive early - It's proving to be a very popular spot.