Tamarind Restaurant reopens at Cairns Casino after closing in January
One of the city’s most popular restaurants has made a grand return and has given its prediction for a recovering hospitality sector.
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ONE of the city’s most popular restaurants has made a grand return and is predicting a promising shift away from the Covid-induced woes for the Far North hospitality industry.
The sumptuous delights of the Thai-inspired Tamarind Restaurant reopened this week at the Cairns Casino after being forced to shut its doors in January.
A “perfect storm” of staff shortages and other factors following the Omicron outbreak left the much-loved chef hat rated Cairns staple in danger of shutting its doors for good.
The Soy Kitchen Street Food has also resumed seven-day-trading, with casino hotel general manager Wayne Reynolds saying he was “excited” and “proud” the venue had been able to overcome the challenges faced over the past two months.
“It’s been a perfect storm this year but it’s bloody good to be open again,” he said.
“We didn’t have enough staff to keep it open because we were down due to Covid, our chef left and it has just taken us that bit longer to recruit.
“It is one of our key restaurants so it’s very important that we keep it running,” he said.
The casino has it’s three main venues back open with Bar 36 also resuming after restrictive trading since Christmas.
Mr Reynolds predicted business to boom this high-season.
“We are most definitely on the up and up,” he said.
“There is definitely some green shoots ahead, our traditional season will get back to some good numbers and are only just now getting back on an even keel.
“Certainly peak season I think is going to kick back in with a vengeance.”
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Originally published as Tamarind Restaurant reopens at Cairns Casino after closing in January
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