Toowoomba’s best businesses 2021: Hairdresser, burgers, bakeries, bartender, sports coach
From the best hairdresser to coach, from burgers to bakeries, we’ve compiled the ultimate list of best businesses in Toowoomba – as voted by you.
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In 2021, The Chronicle continued its Best Of series, where we celebrated the very best local businesses in the region.
We asked you to nominate, and vote for your favourite kinds of businesses and business people from bakeries to burgers, and bartenders to sports coaches.
Here is a full list of the winners in our Best Of series – as voted by you:
Best Bakery
O’Donnell’s Bakehouse
O’Donnell’s Bakehouse owners Robyn O’Donnell and her husband Brenden almost gave up life as bakers about a decade ago.
But sheer perseverance and a love of their craft has kept them in the industry for more than 20 years, and has led them to own one of Toowoomba’s most popular bakeries.
Best Burger
Phat Burgers
While people travel from far and wide for a taste of their award-winning cuisine, it’s the support of the Toowoomba community that has seen Phat Burgers take out our Delicious poll for the region’s best burger.
Co-owner Alan Wynn said its success wouldn’t be possible without the support of the community.
Best Bartender
Loic Mouchelin, Sante Cocktail Bar
Some like it shaken, others like it stirred but it seems Toowoomba likes cocktails with a French twist.
Bartender and co-owner of Sante Cocktail Bar Loic Mouchelin was recently voted in as the region’s best bartender in The Chronicle’s online poll.
When Matt Preston asked readers to nominate their favourite mixologist on Facebook, the post generated a large response.
But ultimately the Sante cocktail maker came out on top.
Best Hairdresser
Robbie Verwey, RMV Hair
Robbie Verwey (Moore) has been a trendsetter from day one.
RMV Hair owner Robbie Verwey (Moore) is excited to be named as the best hairdresser in
Born into a mining family in Biloela, Mr Verwey decided at a young age to divert away from his family’s mining background to become a hairdresser.
Now, barely a year after starting his own salon in Toowoomba, the senior hairdresser and owner of RMV Hair Studio has been named Toowoomba’s best hairdresser with a landslide number of votes from the community.
Best Tattoo Artist
Ben Smith, Whisky Time Tattoo
From the time that Ben Smith could read and hold a pen, he was tattooing.
The son of a tattoo artist, Mr Smith was a six-year-old when he did his first tattoo on his father, and he hasn’t looked back.
“It’s fair to say that tattooing is in the blood,” he said.
His passion and dedication to the craft earned Mr Smith a loyal support base which helped him take out The Chronicle’s favourite tattooist poll.
Best Coach
Gerard Alchin, Willowburn Football Club
It’s fair to say Gerard Alchin will have a lot more free time on his hands now.
With Toowoomba’s football season finished and his Football Queensland Community Cup commitments wrapping up, the Willowburn Football Club president and coach can relax.
Alchin, who was recently voted by The Chronicle’s readers as the region’s best sports coach, loves his busy schedule though.
“One of main motivators is from when I was a kid,” Alchin said.
“At the time you don’t realise it as a kid, nor should you, but there were a lot of people when I was playing junior football who sacrificed their time so that I could have plenty of moments and memories on the field with my mates.
“As you get older, you develop hindsight, and I’m a big believer in giving back, and so I want to give back to the next generation of young athletes coming from.”
Best Cosmetic Injector
Eddie Roos, Cosmetic Elegance Clinic
It’s an easy thing to give people big lips and smooth skin as a cosmetic injector – Dr Eddie Roos knows that.
But that’s not what he and his team at Cosmetic Elegance Clinic want to do.
It’s all about finding a person’s natural beauty, and complimenting it.
It’s this mantra that has earned the team recognition from Toowoomba residents, who have praised their work during The Chronicle’s Best Of series.
Best Brunch
Burrow
If you’re looking for a quality place to have brunch with friends, Clem Demouzon and Tasch Egger’s establishment Burrow has been voted the clear choice in Toowoomba.
The Bridge Street cafe opposite the TAFE campus has won Toowoomba’s Best Brunch competition, which was run by The Chronicle in conjunction with celebrity chef Matt Preston.
Ms Demouzon said the vote of confidence from customers was a surprise.
“It’s really nice, because we heard about the competition but we didn’t really push anyone to vote for us, so it’s really nice that people did that themselves without us asking for it,” she said.
Best Pizza
La Taste
La Taste Takeaway’s Paul Worrall’s approach to making pizza is pretty simple — if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
The veteran Italian eatery owner and his wife Katie have taken out The Chronicle’s Best Pizza in Toowoomba competition for an incredible fifth time during its eight years in operation.
Mr Worrall, who used to own a La Porchetta franchise in Toowoomba and La Frescos in Highfields, said his menu had basically not changed in nearly a decade.
Best Cafe
Pump123
After a nearly a decade in the industry, owners of beloved Russell St cafe Pump123 Tracie and Geoff Batzloff were ecstatic to discover they have been dubbed Toowoomba’s best cafe.
“We are a little surprised, there were so many popular cafes nominated so we didn’t expect Pump to take out the top spot,” Tracie said.
Toowoomba Chronicle asked the public to submit nominations via the Facebook page and received an overwhelming response with 45 cafes from across Toowoomba, Highfields and Oakey being put forward but when it came to the final vote it was Pump123 who won the title for 2021.
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