The Carney brothers
Yoogali,
New South Wales
“Gemelli” is Italian for twins, and two of us are. James and Alec are identical twins, raised in the kitchen side by side; Paul is the older brother. Three of us, one upbringing, the same passion for looking after people.
Where it comes from
Strict Italian
origins
Growing up in Yoogali taught us good hospitality, handmade food and good produce, in that order.
Strict Italian origins, regional New South Wales. Sauce and salami days, a glass of wine with family and friends, Italian culture never far from the table. The twins learned to cook the way you do in an Italian family, standing next to each other at the bench, making it by hand, from scratch, until it was right. That is still the standard in every Gemelli kitchen. What the three of us took from it was the same thing: a passion for looking after people. That's the whole idea behind every venue we've opened since: food you'd actually cook for people you actually like.
The first Gemelli opened in Broadbeach in 2013. Three brothers, James, Alec and Paul, barely out of their teens, with no business training, just cooking and work ethic. We did the fit-out ourselves and learned as we went. There were empty days. People gave us a chance anyway.
Six venues
How we got here
- 2013
Gemelli Italian
Broadbeach, Gold Coast · Restaurant
One room on the Gold Coast Highway. Fresh pasta, a woodfired oven, and a lot of nerve.
- 2016
Gemellini
Nobby Beach, Gold Coast · Restaurant
The little twin. Smaller, louder, two streets back from the sand.
- ·
Roy's
Sorrento, Gold Coast · Neighbourhood
The neighbourhood local in the Riviera centre. Jumbo pizza and BYO wine.
- 2021
Gemelli James St
Fortitude Valley, Brisbane · Restaurant
The first room outside the Gold Coast, and the one with the deepest cellar.
- ·
Papa Rolly's
Carrara, Gold Coast · Neighbourhood
Named for Nonno Rolando, built for the family, at Pappas Way.
- ·
Gelato Gemelli
Nobby Beach, Gold Coast · Gelateria
The gelateria at The Oxley. Every scoop in every restaurant starts here.
Today
Still the
same brief
Six venues later, nothing much has changed about the ambition.
Every single thing on the menu is made by hand, in every room. Fresh pasta rolled every morning from 00 flour and free-range eggs. Proper woodfired pizza. Bread, sauces and desserts from our own kitchens. Gelato made in-house and served in all of them. It costs more to do it this way, and we would not do it any other way. A wine list we actually drink from, one of which has a Gourmet Traveller “One Glass”.
Some of our team have been here since day one; one of them thirteen years. That's the part we're proudest of.
Grazie mille for dining with us.
James, Alec, Paul & the Gemelli team