This restaurateur gave his new eatery a colourful paint job. Now he faces a $6000 fine
When restaurateur Michael Fegent rebooted popular Paddington spot Tequila Mockingbird as an upmarket Venezuelan restaurant, TQM, last month, he hoped to make a splash by painting the facade bright yellow.
But the new look drew the attention of Woollahra Council, which has ordered Fegent to repaint the Heeley Street property or risk a $6000 fine.
Fegent, who owns the terrace building at the Five Ways intersection, said he wanted to bring warmth and vibrancy to the area. 'Yellow is the prominent colour of the Venezuelan flag, and I chose a colour listed as a heritage by the paint supplier,' he said.
The restaurateur said he had no idea the paint job required prior approval, but felt he was being singled out nonetheless. 'There are lots of terrace houses in the Heritage Conservation Area with vibrant colours, including yellow – have they been issued notifications from council?' he said. He declined to name specific properties, to save them from facing the same issues he is.
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The Age
22-05-2025
- The Age
This restaurateur gave his new eatery a colourful paint job. Now he faces a $6000 fine
When restaurateur Michael Fegent rebooted popular Paddington spot Tequila Mockingbird as an upmarket Venezuelan restaurant, TQM, last month, he hoped to make a splash by painting the facade bright yellow. But the new look drew the attention of Woollahra Council, which has ordered Fegent to repaint the Heeley Street property or risk a $6000 fine. Fegent, who owns the terrace building at the Five Ways intersection, said he wanted to bring warmth and vibrancy to the area. 'Yellow is the prominent colour of the Venezuelan flag, and I chose a colour listed as a heritage by the paint supplier,' he said. The restaurateur said he had no idea the paint job required prior approval, but felt he was being singled out nonetheless. 'There are lots of terrace houses in the Heritage Conservation Area with vibrant colours, including yellow – have they been issued notifications from council?' he said. He declined to name specific properties, to save them from facing the same issues he is.
Sydney Morning Herald
22-05-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
This restaurateur gave his new eatery a colourful paint job. Now he faces a $6000 fine
When restaurateur Michael Fegent rebooted popular Paddington spot Tequila Mockingbird as an upmarket Venezuelan restaurant, TQM, last month, he hoped to make a splash by painting the facade bright yellow. But the new look drew the attention of Woollahra Council, which has ordered Fegent to repaint the Heeley Street property or risk a $6000 fine. Fegent, who owns the terrace building at the Five Ways intersection, said he wanted to bring warmth and vibrancy to the area. 'Yellow is the prominent colour of the Venezuelan flag, and I chose a colour listed as a heritage by the paint supplier,' he said. The restaurateur said he had no idea the paint job required prior approval, but felt he was being singled out nonetheless. 'There are lots of terrace houses in the Heritage Conservation Area with vibrant colours, including yellow – have they been issued notifications from council?' he said. He declined to name specific properties, to save them from facing the same issues he is.
The Age
29-04-2025
- The Age
Sydney's ‘first high-end Venezuelan restaurant' to open in Paddington
Within days of the pre-Easter closure of Sydney Latin American restaurant Tequila Mockingbird, the facade of its Paddington terrace home was transformed with bright, luminous yellow paint. 'We've used the yellow from the Venezuela flag,' said the restaurant's owner, restaurateur Michael Fegent. Venezuelan cuisine will follow at TQM, the restaurant rising in Tequila Mockingbird's place when it opens on Thursday, May 8. Previous SlideNext Slide Fegent bills the restaurant as being the 'first high-end restaurant in Sydney doing Venezuelan food'. The seed for the Venezuelan twist came more than a year ago, when Fegent was in Buenos Aires on a research trip for his Balmain restaurant, Casa Esquina. Fegent sat at the kitchen counter at Fogon Asado, a Buenos Aires restaurant recommended by the Michelin Guide. 'Everything we'd had [in other parrillas] was quite traditional, always steak and potato, but this was different,' Fegent said. Impressed, he spoke with the restaurant's Venezuelan executive chef, Jose Garcia, and half-joked if he'd be interested to move to Australia?
