By Michael Scalzo

The book has now closed on a famous chapter in Horsham’s culinary history as an unknown buyer snaps up one of the region’s cultural institutions. 

Toy’s Garden Restaurant, its Chinese gardens and expansive 2.8-hectare grounds sold last week, after more than 18 months on the market.

But while the future of its buildings remain a mystery, for now, founder Leon Toy said he can ‘only hope’ the curated and well-established garden attraction would remain a permanent feature in Horsham.  

“Hope is one thing; whether they will is another,” he said.

“It would be nice to have a legacy from what went on here. For me, it is almost a God-given garden, the effort and money and determination it took. 

“The building is just a building, but the garden is something that could go on forever. 

“I always wanted this to be a tourist attraction, where I could do something useful as well as cooking because for me, I am here for a reason. 

“Now I have done my bit and everything I could – I have reached my pinnacle and I don’t think I could have gone any higher.”

Wes Davidson, of Horsham’s Wes Davidson Real Estate, said there had been varied interest from potential buyers who considered purchasing the property with a range of business propositions in mind. 

He said the property on Stawell Road, Horsham, and within ‘general residential zoning’, was considered for continued restaurant trade, as a potential commercial development site, and for semi-commercial and residential development opportunities.

For the time being at least, a confidentiality clause within the sale contract prevents identification of the property’s buyer. 

Mr Toy said no more stock was ordered, and when it ran out, the business would close. 

“We have to clear out of here by October, but we will be trading until the food runs out. If we sell out tomorrow, we close tomorrow. We are expecting a very big takeaway weekend ahead,” he said.

“After almost 50 years in the game, I am relieved it has sold. It means I don’t have to carry the burden of running a business. 

“It is such a long time – when I started at 24 years-old, I had a staff member who was 46 – now she is 92. Another was 23, now she is 70.

“For all this I am grateful to my staff and loyal customers who have stuck with us for this long.” 

Mr Toy said if he was still young, he would have continued his plan to establish accommodation on the site – a capstone to his concept for customers to ‘eat here, enjoy themselves in the garden, and then have somewhere to sleep’. 

But he said he could not go on ‘forever’.

“After being flat out for so long and in the early days, learning and doing it the hard way and working my way up from the bottom, I was doing 18-hour days, seven days a week. But for now, I can just relax and enjoy life,” he said. 

“The effort I put in; I am so proud of it all. Sometimes I can’t even describe it. I don’t know how I ran a business full time and was able to create this garden. I just did.” 

Mr Davidson said the buyer’s net was cast ‘far and wide’, across Australia and throughout sections of international markets in China. 

He said while it was sad to see Toy’s up for sale, after 50 years, the time was right for the family to enjoy life without the business. 

“If you want one last feed from Toy’s – get down there and enjoy it while you can,” he said. 

The entire August 24, 2022 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!