Wine giant reveals grand plan for historic Bridgewater Mill
Bridgewater Mill’s well-known owner wants to get its historic waterwheel turning again. He reveals an iconic city restaurant – host to top sports and political legends – is moving into the long-empty Hills heritage gem.
A spinoff of renowned city restaurant La Trattoria will be serving its rustic Italian fare at the historic Bridgewater Mill from late July, as the venue’s owner calls for support to get its waterwheel operational.
La Trattoria Famiglia will take up residence at the historic site from July 26, one of the state’s oldest restaurants taking its traditional Italian menu into the Adelaide Hills for the first time.
The Bridgewater Mill has been empty since December 2023, when The Little Cog café announced it was closing.
Bridgewater Mill owner and well-known SA winemaker and owner of Seppeltsfield Warren Randall told InDaily the Adelaide Hills was “fertile ground for a new player”.
La Trattoria Famiglia will start as a pop-up and Randall – who also owns La Trattoria in King William Street alongside SANFL chairman Steven Trigg and JL Lawyers principal John Levy – said he would “see how it goes”.
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A host of well-known faces have been spotted at the La Trattoria tables in King William Street over the years, more recently Geelong football players, sporting legends Bruce McAveny and Malcolm Blight along with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
“It’ll be great for it to be reopened again, and very good for the community,” Randall said.
Randall said the menu would be similar to the authentic pizzas and pastas at La Trattoria’s city restaurant, but “slightly tighter”.
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To complement the new restaurant, Randall is now hoping to restart the ageing waterwheel at the Bridgewater Mill.
Built in 1860, the Bridgewater Mill features a giant waterwheel that was first manufactured in Scotland and brought to Adelaide in pieces, where it was assembled.
Dunn & Co owned and operated mills across the Adelaide Hills district at the time, including the Bridgewater Mill. The mill used water from Cox’s Creek via an 11 metre, 26 tonne wheel known as “Old Rumbler” to grind grain into flour.
When Randall bought the mill in 2015 he worked to get the waterwheel back up and running in 2017, but this abruptly stopped when The Little Cog café vacated the building two-and-a-half years ago.
Now new axle bearing was needed to get it operating, Randall estimated the repairs would cost between $60,000 and $70,000.
In past months, as Randall has worked on getting the venue up to scratch for La Trattoria Familia’s opening, passersby had been asking whether the waterwheel would be operational again.
“There’s tremendous community interest,” Randall said, “it has been absolutely amazing”.
While he was yet to approach the Adelaide Hills Council for support, Randall hoped it would contribute to repair costs. He also intended to crowdsource for any remaining funds.
Adelaide Hills Council was approached for comment.
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