Stella Blu at Dee Why Beach will close after 34 years on The Strand, bringing an end to a beachfront restaurant remembered through decades of meals, milestones and familiar local routines.
For more than three decades, Stella Blu has been part of the rhythm of Dee Why Beach.
The Italian restaurant at 18 The Strand opened in 1992, when the beachfront had only a handful of eateries. It began as a 40-seat cafe serving pizza, focaccia, pasta, coffee and desserts, before growing into a larger restaurant known to generations of diners on the northern beaches.
That long run will end on 28 June, when Stella Blu closes after its final lunch service.
Co-owners Nick Salerno and Pino Salerno announced the closure as impending redevelopment of the site brings the restaurant’s time at The Strand to an end. The business looked at other options, but no alternative was found that felt right for Stella Blu.
From Small Cafe to Long-Running Ristorante
Stella Blu’s story at Dee Why Beach began with modest offerings and a small dining room, but the venue quickly became a favourite among locals.
Over time, it expanded into adjoining premises and was renovated as the owners worked to create an Italian ristorante shaped by food, hospitality and its beachside location.
The site also carries an earlier family history. Umberto and Stella Russo, Italian immigrants, built two shops with a flat above after an older shop on the site burnt down in 1977. They operated a cafe on the corner of The Strand and Howard Avenue called Donna Stella.
Their son Victor later took over the restaurant and renamed it Stella Blu in honour of his mother.
When Nick Salerno became part of the business, Stella Blu was still known for simpler cafe-style meals. With Pino Salerno later joining as partner, the restaurant grew into the venue many diners came to know across the following decades.
Milestones Around the Table
Stella Blu became more than a place for lunch or dinner for many of its regulars.
Across 34 years, the restaurant became a setting for proposals, birthdays, wedding receptions, anniversaries, Mother’s Day meals, farewell drinks and wakes. Customers have remembered favourite dishes, family lunches, long meals with friends and occasions that became attached to the restaurant’s beachfront tables.
Former staff have also recalled busy services, long shifts and the people they worked with over the years. Others remembered the early days of the restaurant, when it was smaller, simpler and already becoming part of Dee Why Beach life.
Since the closure was announced, customers and former staff have shared memories of the restaurant’s food, service, staff and place on The Strand.
Redevelopment Ends the Restaurant’s Time on The Strand
The decision to close follows plans to redevelop the building into a shop-top apartment complex.
Nick Salerno had initially intended to work with the property owners through the redevelopment, with the possibility of continuing Stella Blu in the renewed premises. However, the process continued for a long period, leaving the business without certainty about whether it would return to the site.
He has said there was no acrimony over the redevelopment decision, but the lack of security around the restaurant’s future made it difficult to keep waiting.
The business also considered another premises on The Strand, but no suitable site was available. Moving Stella Blu away from Dee Why was not considered the right fit for a restaurant so closely associated with the suburb.
Final Meals by the Beach
The restaurant’s final week has been marked as a last chance for diners to return before Stella Blu closes its doors.
For some, that means one more meal at a familiar table. For others, it is a final visit to a place linked with birthdays, family gatherings, old work memories or evenings by the water.
Nick Salerno has said he is closing the restaurant while he still enjoys the work and the interaction with customers. After Stella Blu closes, he has said he will explore other potential interests in hospitality.
Published 24-June-2026
