Banjo’s bakery to open in Garbutt on November 2

The first of four new drive-through stores in Garbutt is offering free pies on its opening day. See what’s on offer at the iconic Tasmanian-based bakery cafe.

Pie lovers rejoice — iconic Tasmanian-based bakery cafe group Banjo’s will open a new drive-through store at Garbutt on November 2.

To celebrate, the company is giving away 1000 small savouries on opening day as well as provide one lucky person with free coffee for a year when they download the Banjo’s app, register and nominate Townsville as their favourite store.

The store is the first of four drive-throughs which will open progressively at the Gibb Group development site on the corner of Ingham Rd and Hugh St in the coming weeks.

But the development, which is nearly complete, has been impacted by the collapse of its builder, Lanskey Constructions, which was placed in liquidation this week.

Banjo’s has been operating for almost 40 years and features signature pie flavours such as Chicken Parmigiana, Double Cheeseburger and Tasmanian Curried Scallop.

Banjo's Bakery Cafe in West End. Picture: Evan Morgan

Banjo’s CEO Jessica Saxby said opening a Townsville store seemed like the perfect recipe.

Banjo's Spaghetti Bolognese pie.

“The team at Banjo’s are thrilled to be introducing our incredible range of pastries and cafe items to Townsville and we can’t wait to see locals fall in love with everything from our fresh pies, savouries and sweet treats to our healthy sandwiches and coffees,” Ms Saxby said.

Townsville franchisee Taimoor Ashraf said the expansion was a key milestone for the group.

Banjo's Butter Chicken pie.

“All our menu items are baked fresh on premises daily, so we are taking the utmost care to provide our Townsville customers with the best baked goods in the business,” Mr Ashraf said.

Apart from Banjo’s, the drive-through development will feature a Miss Sushi Japanese food bar, a Zambrero Mexican restaurant and Hoppy’s car wash.

Gibb Group managing director Matthew Gibb said they were excited to see Banjo’s opening and the Ingham Rd project was “very nearly complete”.

“We are working with Lanskey to determine how best to complete the project for our tenants,” Mr Gibb said.

Fit-outs for the stores were progressing and all were likely to open before Christmas.

Mr Gibb said they had been working with Lanksey for many years and they had delivered a number of successful projects for them in Queensland.

Banjo’s will employ 30 staff at its Townsville store and open from 5am to 6pm daily.

The brand has 44 franchise stores across Tasmania, Victoria, NSW, South Australia and Queensland serving more than seven million customers each year.

Originally published as Banjo’s bakery to open in Garbutt on November 2