A change of ownership six months ago has marked a new chapter for Cranbourne landmark The Amazing Grace, with hospitality veteran Adam Sadiqzai returning from a brief retirement to refresh the long-standing venue.
After selling his successful Lysterfield restaurant Stella’s Kitchen, Adam initially stepped away from hospitality, attempting retirement for the first time in more than four decades.
The break lasted just four months.
“Couldn’t take it,” Adam admitted.
“Then I had a call about this venue (The Amazing Grace). It’s just a very beautiful venue that needed just a bit of love and a bit of passion.
“We’ve brought that love and passion back into here by changing the menus, updating the menus to be more of a restaurant-type experience.
“Although we’ve kept some of the pub classics there as well, at the moment, we’re concentrating on bettering the business by getting new tables, chairs, new crockery, pottery, and getting it refreshed with painting.”
With Cranbourne’s rapid growth and changing demographics, Adam believes the timing is right for a venue that offers something different.
Housed in a former church that has been part of Cranbourne’s dining landscape for decades, The Amazing Grace has worn many hats over the years, from fine dining to themed eateries and, more recently, a pub-style venue. The focus has been on repositioning it as a restaurant-style venue while retaining the comfort of familiar pub classics.
Since the takeover, one of the most noticeable changes has been the return of full table service, replacing QR-code ordering.
“Because I’m old school, we’re bringing back the table service element of it,” Adam said.
“Which gives us the opportunity to talk to clients and get to know our clients at personal level, which has been very enjoyable. I have to say, people here have been amazing and very welcoming. I find the people of Cranbourne to be salt-of-the-earth.
“We’ve been welcomed in Cranbourne. They’re loving it. People are really enjoying the fact that there’s more than just pubs to go to. They can actually go to a restaurant-style place.”
Entertainment has also become a key part of the venue’s renewed identity.
Live music now features regularly on Friday nights, with performers using both the chapel stage and the adjoining indoor-outdoor space.
The venue has also hosted themed cultural nights, drag bingo and private events, with comedy nights considered.
Beyond dining, The Amazing Grace has quickly re-established itself as a popular function destination.
Weddings, milestone birthdays and community celebrations are already filling the calendar, while the undercover beer garden, complete with its own bar, has proven popular for birthday parties and group bookings.
“I’d like this to be a comfortable, safe environment for people to be able to enjoy and enjoy good food service and laughs, just feel at home, which we’re achieving now,” Adam said.
“We’re bringing that experience from Stella’s across to here, and it’s nice to see some of my old Stella clients popping in and visiting me here.”
A long-time Berwick resident with deep ties across the Casey and Cardinia regions, Adam said community connection was central to his vision for the venue.
He has spent decades involved with local foundations, boards and cultural projects, and sees the restaurant as another way to give back.
“Every business has, I think, a social responsibility to give back to the community in which they do business,” Adam said.
Adam is also joined in the business by well-known local doctor Dr Leon Shapiro, chair of the ACE Foundation, who has come on board as a silent partner after years of shared community involvement.
Adam comes from one of Australia’s long-established hospitality families, with his parents migrating to Australia in the 1950s and turning to hospitality at a time when professional opportunities for migrants were limited.
His family opened their first restaurant in the early 1960s, and Adam said he was “literally born crawling on the floors of restaurants”, growing up in the industry alongside his siblings.
“We all participated in that restaurant. My mom used to go to the market and jump on a tram with a box of peas or beans,” Adam recalled.
“And on that tram, we would have a container. We would tap the peas from the pot or string the beans like a typical ethnic family going to the restaurant with fresh produce.
“I started from there. I stayed in the business and continued through.”
Now, Adam has spent more than 45 years in the business, owning and consulting across dozens of venues, with family still closely involved, from administration to front-of-house support.
“My kids are third-generation hospitality, and they participate. On any given night, it’ll be my son or my daughters. They’ll be there,” Adam said.
“But it’s not their profession. I didn’t actually allow them to go into hospitality.
“They’re all very highly educated, and they’re well in their own fields, but they just love coming in and helping out and keeping in touch with the industry and helping their father out.
“There’s always family.”
