10 business owners in the Southern Downs and their stories revealed
Warwick and the Southern Downs has quickly become a haven for those who want to start their own business ventures in the region, with community support abundant. Here are 10 new local businesses, and the faces behind them.
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The Rose City has quickly become a destination for locals setting up new and exciting businesses for the community, and creating fun and different options for punters to shop, eat, stay and experience.
We’ve collected 10 new businesses and the people behind them, so you can get a sense of the business and the stories behind the people that run them.
See the list below:
AJ’s Place
People might say opening a physical media store in the age of digital streaming is a mad decision, however one Warwick business owner has big plans to divert the current media trends.
Promising to be the go-to destination for movies, music and memorabilia, Warwick businessman and former Video Ezy and Network Video owner Jeff Clark has opened a new store, AJ’s Place, and has got some big plans for the future.
The family-owned, local business promises to continue to branch out to ensure they provide more than physical media by including bundles, merchandise and printing.
They also have plans for a dedicated games room, scratching the nerdy itch for Rose City revellers who will be surrounded by their kin.
“We know a lot less people are buying movies and TV series (physically) with streaming coming in but one of the biggest things we’ve found is to watch ‘everything’ you’re paying more than $100 a month for all the streaming services,” Mr Clark said.
“There’s still a need for it, especially in Warwick, where we’ve got a lot of customers that come in that don’t have proper internet if they’re just out of town and prefer the physical media- there is still a big need for it in this town.”
African Safari
Local couple Karlien and Rowland Engelbrecht has expanded from a humble African grocery store since opening early this year.
The South African hub now boasts an impressive kitchen serving a range of traditional snack and lunch options, biltong and still keeps homeware, food and drink available for locals to enjoy.
Owner Rowland Engelbrecht is adamant that everyone can enjoy his food, and gets excited introducing locals to new flavours from the continent.
“Traditional South African food has many must-haves, I could keep on going forever, you must have a taste, especially if you’re a meat-eater,” Mr Engelbrecht said.
“Give it a go, you most likely will like it.”
Koji Japanese
Koji Japanese is the newest Asian eatery in the Rose City, operated by franchisee Ryan Kim, who operates several other stores in southwest Queensland.
Mr Kim said locals will be unable to beat the fantastic deals, technology and great taste of the shop’s cuisine.
“There’s a big growing market in regional areas and we hope we can be very successful here, we have great food for great price, we hope people enjoy it.”
Protea Place Warwick
Protea Place is a Toowoomba-based project which aims to support, dignity and safety to vulnerable women in the region and has recently expanded into the Rose City thanks to an enormous community support and volunteer network.
The community and local businesses stepped up and pledged services to ensure the project is a success in Warwick, including donations to help install laundry, kitchen and bathroom for the facility, as well as hundreds of hours of volunteer work.
Protea Place chief executive Amanda Dalton said it was incredible how the community has stepped up when the project was announced to help with pledging support for the planned centre.
Protea Place is currently open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 12pm at their Guy Street location, and offers dignity services such as lunch, showers, laundry, clothing and toiletries along with information and referral where possible.
Glen Lough Cabins
Sheila and Pat O’Boyle owners of Glen Lough Cabins, near Stanthorpe, made the conscious effort to appeal to all levels of accessibility when opening their idyllic holiday retreat.
In the short two weeks the cabin has been open, Mrs O’Boyle said it had attracted a waitlist of travellers keen enjoy an accessible and tranquil experience.
Mrs O’Boyle said the inspiration to construct the wheelchair accessible cabin came about when close friends visited during construction of the additional three cabins.
“We have friends in wheelchairs and one of them came down here when we were in the planning stage, and he just loved our property,” she said.
“We thought we’ve got to build one (disability cabin) so that everyone can come here, because we call this our little slice of heaven.”
Just Cuts Rose City
Isa Hagstrom is all about the community. He opened Warwick’s Just Cuts branch at the end of last year and hasn’t looked back since.
“I love Warwick and I love working in my store, even if I’m sweeping the floors or just on the front desk,” Mr Hagstrom said.
“I wanted to bring Just Cuts to Warwick so everyone could have access to a good and convenient haircut, a lot of the hairdressers are open during work hours through the week and limited hours on weekends, we don’t really have access to that service.”
In February, the Just Cuts team announced they would be giving back to the community, after a warm reception to opening last year.
“We’re looking to give back to ten members of the community initially to let them know they’re cared for and help them look and feel better,” Mr Hagstrom said in February.
“Both my partner and I were born here – we still call Warwick home – and we want to give back in a meaningful way.”
4Stagioni Pizza
Opening a brick and mortar store was forever a dream for owner Ciro ‘Gino’ Borrelli when they opened their mobile pizza business eight years ago.
Now, with a successful brick and mortar on Albion St, the business is as popular as ever, with Warwick residents often flooding social media with reviews, or suggesting Gino’s store whenever someone asks for food recommendation.
Mr Borrelli said it was important to the store and himself to provide “real” food, broken down to its most basic components, keeping the food simple in a way that everyone can enjoy while still being authentic.
“I always say the simplest things are the best things,” he said.
“To me when people walk through my door is like they’re walking into my house, they’re my friends, I want to create that atmosphere of when I started working in pizzerias in Italy when I was 11.”
McDonald’s Warwick
Franchisee Marc Benson started his journey with the golden arches at 14, and now he owns the Rose City branch of the fast food establishment.
Before relocating to Warwick, Mr Benson owned the Roma store, and said he enjoyed the rewarding nature of working with the community and giving back through sponsoring events and sports.
“I started working at McDonald’s when I was 14, and now 30 years later I own a couple of restaurants – it really is fantastic.
“It’s been a fabulous journey and I wouldn’t change anything to be honest, we love to have a positive impact in our local communities as licensees, and it can make a positive impact, it’s highly rewarding for me.”
Warwick Fish Depot
When business partners Nelly Bhatt and Atul Sakhiya planned to open their first store outside Toowoomba, they knew they would have high expectations from the Rose City Community.
Warwick Fish Depot opened late last year in a ‘no-brainer’ move, after successfully operating a wildly popular Toowoomba store since 2016.
The Toowoomba store won The Chronicle’s best fish and chip list in 2016.
“Customers would drive from Warwick and Allora to buy our fish,” Mr Bhatt said.
“They’d tell us we needed to open a store down in the region, so it just made sense to expand here.”
The Depot’s success can be attributed to everything being made in-house and fresh, according to Mr Bhatt.
“We haven’t had a bad week yet, everything is made by us in store from our fish to our salads, and even our sauce,” he said.
“We’re not buying pre-made product, we cut the product up in our store and people seem to have welcomed that.”
Burrito Bar
Mexican chain Burrito Bar expanded to Warwick earlier this year thanks to the help of an excited franchisee, taking the location of an iconic former Rose City establishment.
The prime Albion St location, which still boasts the iconic coloured dome, is now Warwick’s one stop shop for all things Mexican thanks to owner Vijay Namburi.
The move came after longtime business owner Jacqui Dwan closed her popular cafe after almost two decades.
“I have been fortunate to grow with the (company) network for over a year and am excited to take the next big step in opening a Burrito Bar in Warwick,” he said earlier this year.
“The local Warwick community are extremely warm and welcoming and are telling us how excited they are to have something new.”
Since opening, the restaurant has attracted repeat customers leaving positive reviews praising the food and staff.
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