‘How can we still make a living’: Top burger business forced to shut

Tough economic times and rising costs have been blamed for the end of one of Brisbane’s most beloved burger joints.

It attracted queues out the door, customers from around the world and won the praise of Australia’s top food critic, but now a Brisbane burger favourite is set to close its doors for good.

Grassfed in South Brisbane will permanently shut on September 24 with owners Leizl Estioko and Jonny Garrison citing increased costs, the downturn in the economy and a decision to spend more time with their five kids behind the closure.

“It’s been a rough journey since 2020 with lots of instability and lots of ups and downs,” Ms Estioko said.

“The cost of everything is going up – the cost of goods, deliveries, wages, super and we’re not a high end restaurant who can charge more. You can’t be charging $30 or $40 for burgers and fries so how can we still make a living if we make a profit margin of 50 cents a dish.”

A burger from South Brisbane's Grassfed eatery.

She said people were also eating out less and not ordering as much.

“People are being a bit more conscious with their spending and they might be sharing a burger and a drink instead of ordering one each,” she said.

“We don’t have a lot of seats at our venue so when you’ve got two people taking up two seats but sharing one burger it makes it hard to make money.”

The eatery, which opened in late 2018, previously had diners queuing for a table and takeaway, with many coming straight off the plane from overseas or interstate with their suitcases in tow. It had also drawn the attention of former MasterChef judge and top TV food critic Matt Preston.

Grassfed’s burgers attracted huge crowds from across the world.

Ms Estioko said she was proud of what the business had achieved in its five years, converting many clients to veganism with its quality meat-free burgers and raising money for charity Farm Animal Rescue.

The couple will now focus on their other business, Queensland Vegan Markets, which operates across southeast Queensland and serves the Grassfed burgers from a stall; as well as running vegan expos around Australia, and spending time with their five children.

Grassfed will serve its last burger on September 24, with a series of $6 and $7 specials on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the lead up to the closure.