Attaboy Restaurant and Bar serving tapas in Dapto.

Murray is ticking another item off his bucket list with his latest venture opening on Tuesday (official opening Saturday, April 14). 

Attaboy tapas bar and restaurant will be the third hospitality business he has opened, which will take over the former Fabrices Woodfire Pizza space in the Dapto CBD.

“The landlord approached me to take over the lease here. I worked here when I was 18 and that’s when it was first ever opened as a restaurant,” he said. “So I jumped at it.”

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The proud Dapto resident is Junior Vice President of the local Chamber of Commerce, also runs Dapto Beach Kiosk eatery and Alexanders Cafe, as well as organised Dapto's first ever public mural in February 2017.

“With the cafe and the kiosk they pretty cater a lot for the Dapto community in terms of having somewhere to go,” Murray said. 

“The day vibe of Dapto has definitely lifted since the cafes opened, but I think my aim for this is to create that space for nightlife.”

Prior to opening, the Attaboy Facebook page had already gained nearly 4,000 likes – possibly due to the Murray’s presence about town. While an 18th birthday party and a wedding had already booked the venue.

Murray said the vision for the restaurant came directly from the community. About two months ago conducted an online survey asking what style of cuisine and type of restaurant people wanted in Dapto. A tapas bar was the clear winner among the 800 or so respondents.

“It’s something Dapto doesn’t have,” he said.

Chefs Taryce Cahill and Matthew Hillard will be serving up a range of Australian-style small plates from sliders to chargrilled corn, wood fired pizzas and possibly the yummiest item on the menu – baked brie served with cranberries.

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The decor includes lots of vintage velvet, wood panelling and rustic finds – all of which have either been sourced from Gumtree or handmade by Murray.

Meantime, the proud advocate for the southern Wollongong suburb said he would ultimately love to see the area become a “cross between Berry and Newtown”.

“It has the streetscape and the building potential,” Murray said.

As for the new residential developments in the works at West Dapto, he said it could only be positive by bringing more income into the 2530 area and help businesses be more sustainable.

Attaboy is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday to Sunday from April 10, at 106 Princes Highway in Dapto.