Historical information

These photographs, taken by The Advocate in 1990, feature the Sunshine Sizzler Restaurant during the final stages of construction, with landscaping works underway shortly before the restaurant opened to the public.

At the time, Sizzler was one of Australia’s most recognisable family restaurant chains. By 1992, the company operated 74 restaurants nationwide, including several locations across Victoria. The Sunshine restaurant formed part of this period of expansion, reflecting changing dining habits and the growing popularity of American-style casual family dining in Melbourne’s western suburbs.

Despite the chain’s national success, the Sunshine restaurant operated for only a relatively short period before closing. The decline of the Sizzler brand in Australia saw restaurant numbers steadily reduce during the following decades, with no Victorian locations remaining by 2017.

As of 2026, the former Sizzler building was occupied by the Gold Leaf Chinese Restaurant, demonstrating the ongoing evolution of Sunshine’s retail and dining landscape.

Significance

These photographs document a brief but notable chapter in Sunshine’s commercial history, capturing the development of a major hospitality business at the moment it was entering the local community.

Physical description

Digital scans of black and white negatives

Inscriptions & markings

6834.01 - Sunshine Sizzlers Under Construction 491 Ballarat Road Sunshine 1990 Photographs (Advocate 470.3).JPG

6834.02 - Sunshine Sizzlers Under Construction 491 Ballarat Road Sunshine 1990 Photographs (Advocate 470.3).JPG

6834.03 - Sunshine Sizzlers Under Construction 491 Ballarat Road Sunshine 1990 Photographs (Advocate 470.3).JPG

6834.04 - Sunshine Sizzlers Under Construction 491 Ballarat Road Sunshine 1990 Photographs (Advocate 470.3).JPG