IT'S a fresh start for the Alder Park Sports Club, right down to the new bistro within, Norma's.
Originally a bowling club established in the 1940s, the organisation is now a sports club with a new board. With renovations, fresh paint, new picnic tables, and now the new bistro, it's full steam ahead.
Chris Brain came in as the new general manager of the club 18 months ago. He came from New Lambton Football Club, bringing their members with him.
They came in with the mandate to keep the bowls alive but also to change the structure and the corporate environment. They've converted one of the bowling greens to an outdoor eating area and beer garden.
Over the decades many different bistros have occupied the space. Previously it was a Greek cuisine, and now Norma's offers typical pub food with a Spanish twist. The business owner and head chef is Kenny Vandevelde, and he and his family live right down the road.
Vandevelde sold his last restaurant over a year ago, and he's always been hunting for a local restaurant to run.
"My last two restaurants have been down in Terrigal, so for the last 15 years I've doing the drive every day," Vandevelde says. "For the last nine months I've been searching, trying to find the right site in Newcastle."
For 35 years Vandevelde has been a chef. He grew up in Margaret River and started his career working in a cafe by the beach. He did an apprenticeship at a winery and went on to travel in Europe as a chef, which led to his interest in Spanish and Moroccan food. Over his career he's been the head chef at Moorish in Darwin and the head chef locally at Bocados Spanish Kitchen.
After Vandevelde sold his last restaurant he started noticing the Alder Park Sports Club while walking his dogs. One thing led to another and after a few months of renovation Norma's officially opened just over a month ago.
The name "Norma's" is a reference to the club's history. In the 1940s when it began the male bowlers were short of members and approached local female bowler Norma Clarke, whom they eventually convinced to join. Clarke brought other women to the team, and that's how the club got enough members to begin.
That era is also an inspiration for the US-diner style decor, which Vandevelde's partner, Linda Romei, orchestrated with the help of some branding from DesignSmiths.
The menu includes traditional pub favourites like schnitzels, rump steaks and burgers, but they elevate the offerings with their own pickled cucumbers, onions and fennel. They make as much of the food as possible in house, from the coleslaw to the kids chicken nuggets.
"The menu was created by knowing what the public would want around here. I'm doing the Spanish tapas, that's my forte and something I've done the last 15 to 20 years," Vandevelde says.
As they're a family with multiple food allergies, they do as much as they can to accommodate a range of diets including gluten free, vegetarian and vegan. It's easy for Vandevelde to do gluten free as he doesn't buy anything pre-made. He buys his meat, his fish and his vegetables fresh. He opts for the fried calamari rather than crumbed. It's about good quality over quantity.
The family is thrilled to have a space to help realise Vandevelde's dreams while also having him closer to home. Their kids are helping out in the restaurant, and the beer garden is dog friendly. It's a dining experience they would want to have anyway if they weren't already working to create it.
Welcoming local families is important to Romei and Vandevelde, and they think being parents helps them accommodate.
"Adults could have a meal and the kids feel welcome; they are allowed to almost run amok," he says. "There's an indoor play area, huge outdoor area, they've got the whole range of that grass.
"People can sit outside and kids won't get knocked over, or if you prefer you can go inside to sit and read. New Lambton is such a family area, it's good to have another option that isn't purely a pub."
