Daily Telegraph November 3 2007

by Fiona Connolly

TWENTY years after it opened, Sydney's Hard Rock Cafe has served its last plate of buffalo wings - and one lucky builder has walked away with a rather large memento.

With the celebrity memorabilia in storage and everything else auctioned off, general manager John Shaw was left with the small matter of half a car poking out of the front of the building.

Frustrated by builders knocking back the tricky job, Mr Shaw hired Unique Constructions owner Ricardo Fioravanti, who had the Cadillac down from the Crown St facade in a few hours in a traffic-stopping act. "People were yelling out things like, 'Don't do it' and 'I'll have it'," Fioravanti said yesterday. "Some people were quite upset saying stuff like, 'It's the end of an era', which it is I suppose." After the difficult job, Mr Fioravanti was told he could keep the vintage half-car and the Hard Rock signage. "I was stoked actually. It's obviously a bit of a collector's item," he said. If he does not sell it, he is considering turning the car into a couch or a bar - using the boot as a fridge. The Darlinghurst restaurant, which peaked in popularity in the 1980s, ceased trading last Sunday night after its lease expired. It is now looking for a new site.

http://www.news.com.au/cafe-memento-really-rocks/story-e6frezt9-1111114789253