Guzman y Gomez closes its Townsville CBD store to pursue drive through model
After years of satisfying hunger cravings with tacos, burritos and nachos, a Mexican restaurant in the Townsville CBD has hightailed it like Speedy Gonzales. Here’s why.
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Visitors and workers will need to find somewhere else to satisfy their Mexican food cravings in the CBD after Guzman y Gomez pulled the plug on their store under BCC Townsville Cinemas, in the Central Village building.
Despite Google saying it “temporarily closed”, tradies were spotted stripping out Guzman y Gomez’s (GYG) space and dumping the restaurant’s fit-out into two skip bins on Tuesday.
Seeing a gap in the Australian market for “fresh, clean Mexican food”, New Yorkers and childhood best friends Steven Marks and Robert Hazan founded GYG in Sydney in 2006.
They went on to open Townsville’s first store at The Precinct, Idalia in 2013, and additional stores at the Willows Shopping Centre, Domain Central, Townsville CBD, and Fairfield Waters.
When asked why they were departing their tenancy at 10 Little Fletcher St, the GYG spokeswoman said it was due to a shift in focus towards drive throughs.
“At GYG, we regularly review our network to ensure we’re meeting guest needs. Drive through has become an increasingly important channel to GYG guests – offering greater convenience and accessibility throughout the day – brekkie, lunch and dinner,” the spokeswoman said.
“We have built two fantastic drive through locations in Townsville.
“As a result of their success, we have seen the transfer of sales from Townsville Central to them and therefore have decided to close this restaurant at the end of its lease.”
She assured Townsville residents that they could still enjoy GYG’s beloved burritos and burrito bowls at three nearby locations – all within a 10-20 minute drive.
“Given the proximity of these restaurants, we are also happy that we have been able to redeploy most of our 30 crew members within the network,” she said.
“All GYG crew members receive their full entitlements.
“GYG values being part of the Townsville community, providing locals with clean, fresh, made-to-order, Mexican-inspired food and creating meaningful employment opportunities for our crew.”
She was unable to say whether GYG would open at another Townsville location.
The building’s owner, Honeycombes Property Group was approached for comment.
Originally published as Guzman y Gomez closes its Townsville CBD store to pursue drive through model
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