A Coat of Polish – The Polish Place Tamborine Mountain

For 36 years, the Polish Place was one of Tamborine Mountain’s premier locations for accommodation, dining, and a taste of a fascinating foreign culture. In late 2016 a tragic fire claimed the entire premises. But Ania Sowter and her husband Phil didn’t give up on their dream, and in September of last year the Polish Place opened again for business to the delight of many. Ania reveals the secrets behind running the beloved location and how the community helped to revive it from the ashes.

by Kyle Hitchmough

What was the original inspiration to create a destination like this?

We were young and it was an adventure. We had our honeymoon here and bought this block of land. It took us one year to decide what to do with it. Then Tamborine Mountain became a tourist destination. It was for people to come for a day and have a walk in the national parks. We decided it would be lovely for them to pop in and have a cup of coffee and some cake. Because I’m Polish, we used the Polish theme as a potential attraction.

You have accommodation and a restaurant, but also a gallery?

The coffee shop and the gallery were the first items. 36 years ago, it was a challenge as I don’t think many Australians were familiar with Polish culture, it was a gamble.

Everyone was fascinated by it and the interest in Poland and in Europe became more significant.

Is it true that when it originally opened, there was some controversy?

We had a few people who challenged our project. Fortunately, we had the Beaudesert Shire Council behind us. Mind you, there were only about 1200 people living here, now we have nearly 8000. In those days it was more challenging to open a business, there weren’t that many tourist attractions on the mountain. Then more businesses started opening and then the wineries came. We were the first to offer cottage accommodation on the mountain. It slowly became a tourist destination for day trippers and overnighters. Tamborine Mountain changed its image completely. It’s interesting how it has evolved and developed into quite a serious tourist attraction.

You serve traditional Polish food here—roast duck is your signature traditional dish. What other kinds of things do you serve?

In the beginning the emphasis was mostly on the gallery. There was the coffee shop, but people kept coming in and asking about Polish food. It took us a little while to develop, but there was huge interest. We were the first Polish restaurant in Australia outside of Polish clubs. We are actually the oldest business on the mountain run by the same couple. The roast duck is made the traditional Polish way, with apples, and then I created my fried apples and sour cherries sauce. The duck is absolutely magnificent. We also have the pork hock slow cooked in our traditional way, with beer and garlic butter. I have to mention pierogi, Polish dumplings. Very, very popular. We have pierogi with meat, sauerkraut and mushroom, cheese and potatoes.

What are some ways that you bring a touch of Polish culture to the experience here?

We had a lot of artifacts that were from different regions of Poland, such as glass paintings, wooden sculptures and metalwork, fine art, traditional folk art. It is anything and everything. And of course, I have to mention Polish amber. Amber to Poland is like opal to Australia. It’s a very noble stone, and we have plenty.

Do you find that you have more of a certain type of clientele? What is your usual guest?

We have every type of client. From overseas we get a high percentage of Chinese, Japanese and Koreans. We have British, we have a lot of French coming in. Germans like the pork hock but mostly we cater for Gold Coast and Brisbane people. Our meals are so different to any other restaurant, not  steaks. It’s a combination of great location, lovely environment, fabulous food, good coffees and cakes.

What do you think the Polish Place provides to the community beyond the basics of food and accommodation?

We are part of the tourism community. Everyone provides something different, so people can have a choice. You have bed and breakfast, Airbnb, hotels, motels, cottages, everything for everybody.

Obviously, the incident with the fire was extremely tragic, but you’ve recovered well. What has it been like to rebuild your business so successfully?

It was just amazing. We announced on Facebook that we were reopening, a television crew came up, we had people coming in from all over, so many congratulating us for re-opening. It was absolutely magnificent. We had encouragement from previous customers over the past three years that kept us going. We’re still developing, it’s still not finished, but it shouldn’t take us another 30 years!

I’ll tell you a funny story: day after the fire, when we had completely lost everything a car pulled up to the fence. The guy comes out of the car and says “for goodness’ sake, what happened?” And we said it had caught fire. He said “well, I just came here with my girlfriend and I wanted to propose to her in front of the fireplace!” He walked back to the car and said “will you marry me?” So, they got engaged in the car in front of the Polish Place! We invited them as soon as we reopened. It seems that our Polish Place meant a lot, to many. Not just because of the Polish influence, but because of the Place, as it is.

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