Neighbors of ‘Singing Chef’ who plays opera tunes at his restaurant ’10 hours a day’ beg him to shut up – but customers love it
- Restaurant row in Surfer’s Paradise, Gold Coast, is boiling over
- ‘Inhumane’ noise levels drive restaurant owner ‘insane’
- But fans of the “Singing Chef” say complaints motivated by jealousy
The ‘Singing Chef’ thrills his customers with impromptu performances on the restaurant floor – but not everyone is enamored with his classically trained tones.
The owner of the eatery next door has bitterly complained that David De Vito, who runs The Vault Bar and Tapas in Surfer’s Paradise, Gold Coast, scares diners away with his constant singing.
Sushil Sharma, who runs the Greek seafood restaurant Unicorn, claims that Mr De Vito’s extravagant performances – often with an electric guitar, saxophone or grand piano – deter people from eating with him.
The ‘Singing Chef’ delights his patrons by giving impromptu performances on the restaurant floor (pictured) – but not everyone is enamored with his classically trained tones
“The music is good, but not ten hours a day and if I lose money because of it,” he said A current situation.
“People don’t want to come here. It’s an everyday story. They tell us it’s too loud, they’d love to be here, but it’s too loud.’
Mr Sharma said the noise was ‘inhumane’ and fears it will cause him to lose his business.
“A fine dining restaurant cannot possibly survive next to loud music because it’s a completely different concept,” he said.
Tensions between the pair ran high when Mr. De Vito was filmed throwing the bird at one of Mr. Sharma’s associates.
The Singing Chef has been fined for exceeding his 75 decibel noise limit in the past and is requesting that it be raised to 90.
Mr Sharma has begun monitoring noise levels with his own decibel meter and claims Mr De Vito regularly exceeds 100 decibels.
De Vito has been fined for reaching its 75 decibel limit in the past and is asking to raise it to 90
But Mr De Vito, who came second in Australia’s got talent in 2011, hit back and dismissed the claim as ‘silly’.
‘My clients are the same age as his clients. They’re all 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s so if it’s too loud over there (next door) no one would be able to handle that volume here.’
“At any moment you can see this place buzzing with energy, love and positivity, but next door it’s just not that busy.”
He claims business in the area has picked up since he took over the restaurant last October and says he has the support of other establishments.
De Vito also has the support of AFL legend Mark ‘Jacko’ Jackson, who suggested the complaints were motivated by envy.
Sushil Sharma, owner of the Greek seafood restaurant Unicorn
“I don’t really know what that man is complaining about,” he said.
“People get jealous, when you’re doing well, everyone’s jealous.”
Mr Sharma has been complaining about the noise to Queensland’s Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR) for the past eight months.
The OLGR said they are “pressing through” the noise complaints.
‘We are working with the permit holder to ensure that the noise levels at the location are not unreasonable and do not have an unnecessary impact on the surrounding facilities.
Both entrepreneurs agreed that they would be happy with a partition wall between their two restaurants.
But the idea had previously been rejected by the coachbuilder for safety reasons.