Battle of the benches: Popular bakery fights a Sydney council over outdoor seating
A bun-fight has broken out on Sydney’s northern beaches as a council considers shutting down outdoor dining outside a popular Manly bakery.
Northern Beaches Council will consider ordering the removal of seating from outside Rollers Bakehouse on Rialto Lane over public safety concerns, including potential conflicts between pedestrians, cars and delivery vehicles.
The outdoor seating at Rollers Bakehouse in Manly.Credit: James Brickwood
The bakery, which draws up to 4000 customers each week, has been placing benches within a pedestrian area since opening in Manly more than five years ago.
However, a council report has recommended the permanent removal of the seating after flagging “safety risks”, such as damage to street bollards that separate the dining area from vehicles within the laneway.
The report stated 11 of the 21 bollards in the laneway have been struck by vehicles in the past year, resulting in two of the bollards having to be replaced.
Bakery owner James Sideris, who also runs Manly’s Norma’s Deli and the Butter Boy cookie outlet, is battling to stop the removal, saying the prospect of having to pack up the outdoor seating could put a dampener on the town centre’s vitality.
James Sideris is calling for the seating to be retained.Credit: Edwina Pickles
“For years we’ve had outdoor seating and there has never been an issue with safety,” he said.
“It’s not like we’ve whacked a whole bunch of tables on the road or have people getting drunk in the laneway – it’s just a few benches for people to sit down and have a coffee and a pastry in the sun.
“We were one of the first businesses to activate that laneway and it’s become a real social hub, which the council is now looking to take away.”
The report, due to be debated on Tuesday night, comes after the council previously considered banning the seating after it was discovered the venue did not have a permit.
Rollers Bakehouse in Manly is fighting with the council.Credit: James Brickwood
The move prompted a swift backlash: 2800 people signed a petition calling for the retention of the seating, while politicians, including former Northern Beaches mayor Georgia Ryburn, who ran as the state Liberal candidate in the 2024 Pittwater byelection, threw their support behind the venue on social media.
The response ultimately resulted in the council granting a nine-month permit to allow the bakery to continue operating the seating.
However, the council report stated that continuing to allow outdoor dining would present conflicts with the “original intended use of this space as a safe pedestrian access way off the vehicular laneway”.
The assessment included feedback from supermarket retailer Coles, which opposed any potential reduction in the width of the laneway to facilitate the bakery’s outdoor seating due to “negative impacts” on its nearby outlet on the Manly Corso.
Sideris is urging the council to reconsider the assessment, which he said was made without consultation.
“No one from the council has approached us about any changes about how the seating could be improved – it’s just basically being quashed altogether,” he said.
“It’s hard enough for small businesses at the moment, with rising costs and regulations, and this is just another thing that makes it harder when all we’re trying to do is create a good culture and a space for people to sit down.”
The decision comes as various other Sydney councils have taken active steps to promote outdoor dining, including the City of Sydney Council, which has permanently waived outdoor dining fees to provide “crucial” support for the city’s hospitality sector.
The city’s outdoor dining revolution has come with its challenges: some venues have been told to remove seating due to inadequate space within pedestrian areas and roadways.
The petition launched to save the Rollers Bakehouse’s seating stated the venue’s “outdoor space has been a cornerstone of community connection without impeding essential road activities”.
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