Truffle man hunts new crowds

Business owner starts second shop in Mt Tambourine

TUFFLES TRAVEL: Matt Hibberd with some truffle oil at a lookout en route to Mt Tambourine where he is officially opening another shop on Sunday. Picture: Contributed

OWNER of The Summit's truffle-hunting dogs and its Truffle Discovery Centre, Matt Hibberd, is following his nose to Mt Tambourine where he'll open another shop next week.

Mr Hibberd is chasing year-round tourism crowds and will open the Truffle Discovery Centre's Gallery on Tambourine on Mothers' Day.

"We've taken a studio- gallery type shop,” he said.

"It'll be the same local, regional, global foods we do here in Stanthorpe, including truffle oils, honeys, salts, a mixture of local and regional truffle products.”

European foods including olives, bruchetta, pasta sauces and gourmet foods, gifts and novelty items will also be featured.

Located on Gallery Walk, Mt Tambourine, the new shop is 30 minutes' drive from the Gold Coast and an hour from Brisbane.

The street is designed in the same style as Airlie Beach's main street, where people park at one end or the other and walk its length.

Mr Hibberd said a drop in visitor numbers on the Granite Belt had been noticeable in recent years, and he had looked as far as Sydney for a location to expand the business.

Many of his regular visitors at the Truffle Discovery Centre were from the Gold Coast and hinterland and were excited to visit the new shop.

"I'm nervous, the costs are dearer as well, but there's definitely a lot of foot traffic,” he said.

"The local truffle scene has been quite successful, and a lot of our customers don't want to come back here or shop online.”

As Mt Tamborine is a destination that acts as a "gateway to the rest of Queensland”, he is hoping to use the new shop to lure visitors to his Granite Belt "home base”.

"It's a lot like here only greener,” he said.

"It's 10 times busier than here, quite literally.

"It's a major, major destination.

"It's definitely food, wine, coffee - they're the main reasons people are there,” he said.

"People go for brunch, and an outing, as well as the rainforest aspect and heritage.”

He said the chamber of commerce at Mt Tamborine understood the area was "the gateway to the rest of Queensland as a tourism corridor”.

"They understand that they also help market the rest of Queensland,” Mr Hibberd said.

"There's a really good fit to have Stanthorpe businesses up there.”

A dog trained at his sister's business Law Dogs will be at the grand opening.

"People can come and meet a sniffer dog, talk to us, find out what Law Dogs and Stanthorpe's about and then go and taste products,” he said.

"The gallery's got a nice feel to it - we're going to have couches and a video scrolling ... it's got a lot of space and a lot of good things happening.”

A "soft opening” this week will lead into a grand opening on Mother's Day.