Three restaurants close in quick succession in popular Brisbane dining district
It appears times are tough for restaurant owners with three eateries closing within weeks of each other at a popular dining district on Brisbane's northside.
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THREE eateries in one of Brisbane’s most frequented dining districts have bitten the dust in quick succession, including a popular seafood restaurant that closed without warning.
Family run Fresh N Wild Fish Portside last week shut its doors after more than 13 years although there are plans to reopen at a yet-to-named new location.
A mere kilometre away, also calling it quits were Journey Café & Bar and Unwined Bar & Kitchen in Racecourse Rd, Ascot.
They both closed within days of each other late last month while several premises along the premium strip are also vacant.
Fresh N Wild operators Michael and Sam Demetriou and Greg Kalligeros said they regretted having to walk away from the restaurant but were left with no choice.
They said the restaurant had been great to them and they were looking to open another seafood eatery, although when and where was yet to be determined.
“We’re very sad about having closed down FNW, The trio said in a statement to The Courier-Mail.
“We spent 13 years there running it as a family. It put us all through school and university so it was a very hard decision to close the doors.
“Sometimes it’s just better to walk away then try and hold onto something for sentimental value.”
Now the trio have vacated Portside they are focusing their energy on their three Cheeky Poke bars at Newstead, West End and Greenslopes.
Not surprisingly, the menus are heavily weighted with seafood dishes including Salmon, Tuna and Kingfish dishes.
“We are looking at reopening FNW, but we’re just trying to find the perfect spot, so not rushing anything,” they said.
“At the moment, we’re just concentrating on Cheeky Poke. We’re putting everything we have, especially our heart and soul into it.
“It’s a great business and we’ve worked very hard to get it where it is today. Expansion of Cheeky is our number one priority right now.”
The closure of Fresh N Wild came within a couple of weeks of two more Racecourse Rd establishments shutting down.
Journey Café & Bar had been operating for several years before it stopped serving.
The reasons for its closure were not clear to Raceway Barbers’ owner Amin Eslamizadeh who has been cutting hair next door to Journey for some three years.
“I’m not sure why it closed down, but from my perspective, we would like to see more locals shop and frequent Racecourse Rd,” Mr Eslamizadeh said.
“About 90 per cent of my customers are not locals, they come from as far away as Chinchilla and Dubbo.
“If we can get more locals, a lot more businesses would do well.”
Just a few doors down from Journey Café & Bar sits the Joli Boutique run by Lauren Holland.
Ms Holland said vacant premises were giving the impression that businesses were doing it tough in Racecourse Rd and yet she has the best 12 months of her decade long run along the shopping strip.
She said businesses needed a point of difference and that may also help attract more locals to the strip which is doing better than most people give it credit for.
“It’s been a great 12 months and seeing shops close, belies the fact a lot of businesses along Racecourse Rd are doing well,” Ms Holland said.
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