Banjo’s Gold Coast: Opening date for new Helensvale bakery revealed

The opening date has been announced for the first Gold Coast outlet in the popular Banjo’s chain. Take a sneak peek inside the new bakery.

Franchisees Anthony and Donna Bosworth at the new Banjo’s bakery in Helensvale. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

Two years ago Anthony and Donna Bosworth were public servants living in Hobart.

They knew they wanted a lifestyle change, but weren’t sure what it would be.

Every Saturday, they would go for breakfast at their local Banjo’s – a massively popular bakery chain in Tasmania.

It was there that the idea rose, like the crust on a pie, to open a bakery of their own.

On Wednesday October 2 that dream will become reality when they welcome customers to the Gold Coast’s first Banjo’s outlet at Helensvale.

“We wanted a complete sea change. We looked at numerous different activities to change our lifestyle. And one thing we kept doing every Saturday was going to Banjo’s for breakfast,” Anthony says.

“And then we kept seeing the advertisements for franchisees. We knew we liked it, we liked the product, we knew it was a family business.

“We wanted to work together, to do something that we were together in.

“We looked at different franchising opportunities and we landed with Banjo’s.”

Franchisee Donna Bosworth at the new Banjo’s Bakery in Helensvale. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

Coffee is a big part of the offering at the new Banjo’s. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

Also an ambition of the couple, who have been married for four years, was to move to the Gold Coast.

“That’s where we had our honeymoon. We wanted to go overseas but we honeymooned in Covid,” Donna says.

“We couldn’t go overseas so we said we would go to the Gold Coast so we came up here and we really liked the warm weather.

“We just fell in love with it.”

Franchisee Anthony Bosworth hard at work in the kitchen. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

Owner are hoping the new bakery becomes a popular meeting spot for locals. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

With Banjo’s busy building on its Apple Isle popularity by expanding interstate, the perfect opportunity arose.

The couple moved to the Gold Coast last March and have been working tirelessly ever since to prepare for the day when they can bring Banjo’s favourites including scallop pies and sausage rolls to locals.

The tasty bakery items will be made fresh on the premises, with customers using the restaurant’s drive through able to view bakers hard at work as they wait for their orders.

“Everything is made fresh in store,” Donna says.

“That will be an everyday process of making the pies, sausage rolls, everything.”

Franchisees Donna and Anthony Bosworth at the bakery’s drive through. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

Banjo’s will be open seven days a week from 5am to 6pm. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

The new restaurant will employ 45 people. It will be open for seven days a week on every day except Christmas Day from 5am to 6pm.

Coffee, doughnuts, hash browns and toasties are among the popular items that will be on the menu, but the chain’s signature pies are expected be the biggest drawcard.

“The most popular pie that we’ve seen across the brand is the steak, bacon and cheese.

“We use King Island beef, so it always is good quality beef,” Anthony says.

“But the two that we are probably the most excited about is the cheeseburger pie and the chicken palmy pie.”

Even before opening, the couple have already become enmeshed in the local community, with Banjo’s becoming involved with local sports teams, sponsoring a breakfast club at next door Helensvale State High School and donating vouchers for Helensvale State School’s upcoming 40th anniversary fete.

“We’re going to be really big in the community,” Anthony says.

But it’s a Tasmanian favourite that Donna expects they will be best known for.

“It’s the scallop pies,” she says. “People always come for the scallop pies.”

Banjo’s Bakery will open to the public at 104 Helensvale Rd on October 2.

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Originally published as Banjo’s Gold Coast: Opening date for new Helensvale bakery revealed