Karlie Brady

Journalist

It’s the end of an era in the Port Douglas restaurant scene with the iconic On the Inlet restaurant officially closing for good.

The famous eatery has been closed for much of the past 12 months throughout the pandemic and owners Geoff Parmenter and Alison Diamond have finally called time.

Ms Diamond said the ongoing uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, and the staff shortages the seaside town is currently experiencing contributed to their decision to begin their retirement.

“We decide that with the closure of borders and people’s apprehension to travel, that Port Douglas is probably going to be on and off again for a while and we are getting too old to worry about those sorts of things, so we decide to close up and retire,” she said.

“It’s all really an unknown and when you have to open and close several times it is very expensive and we just can’t keep doing it, and not at our age.”

After closing during the initial COVID-19 lockdown, On the Inlet briefly opened again in July 2020, however, found it difficult to find enough staff, an issue felt by many in the Port Douglas hospitality scene, so were forced to close again.

Mr Parmenter said after 19 years at the helm “it is pretty sad, but you can only do what you can do.

“We have plenty of memories from the restaurant, it is going to be missed.”

As the name suggests, On the Inlet opened on the Dickson Inlet in Port Douglas in 2003, where it sat until it was forced to move to Wharf Street in 2017 due to marina redevelopment plans.

While in its waterside location, the star of the show was the famous fish, Gorge the Groper, who popped up to say hello and get a feed over the balcony every day.

“He became very well-known all-over Australia and the world,” Mr Parmenter said.

“With Gorge the Groper down on the water, it was a very good afternoon session every day.

“He was always there.”

George’s star power even followed them when the restaurant moved up the road on Wharf Street.

“Even when we moved, we had people call and ask about him and want to get a table by the water to see him, not realising we had moved,” Ms Diamond laughed.

Mr Parmenter and Ms Diamond will now hit the road and travel Australia after saying goodbye to their beloved restaurant and they thanked those who made On the Inlet the success it was for so many years.

“We have had so many local and returning customers from within Australia and around the world, who always came when they were here on holidays here, who have kept the restaurant going and made it really what it became,” Ms Diamond said.

“We have also had a lot of really good staff over the years, and you can’t operate a good business without good staff either, so we would love to thank all those people for being a part of On the Inlet.”