New tech at one of Ipswich's favourite restaurants

The family restaurant chain might be beset with closures and market headwinds, but at least one franchisee is still doing well - and moving into the 21st century.

Ipswich Hog's Breath Cafe franchisee Manuel Dimou.

IPSWICH'S Hog's Breath Cafe has been operating for nearly 20 years and it's now moving into the 21st century.

But it's being civic-minded that's helped owner and operator Manuel Dimou trade for the past two decades.

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"The decision we made from day one was if we were going to be here long-term, we would have to do more than sell food and drinks, we had to become part of the community," he said.

"In 2011 we had the floods here in Ipswich and the restaurant was wrecked, we had to build it from scratch again.

"The positive was afterwards we were very well supported, the locals had this brand new place to come and dine and support us.

"We're heavily involved in sponsorship and anything we can do in the area, we support a lot of social groups ... sporting teams, charities, yearly events.

"The whole reason is so we can become a part of the community and they can become a part of the business as well."

With such a tenure in the community it's hard to stay relevant without upgrades but this year's are next level: iPad ordering from the table.

"We always look forward to what we can do," Mr Dimou said.

"There's always new stuff going on and we always try to stay on the forefront of all that to make sure we're still relevant and looking new and exciting.

"We have some renos coming up shortly, we also have some new technology coming in like iPad ordering at the table if it goes well we'll get it out to most tables.

"It's been nearly 20 years, we normally change our menus year to year. The whole reason we do this stuff is so we can stay relevant and look after our customers better."