Ipswich stalwart to close its doors after years of trading

They fought the good fight for as long as they could, but the doors will close on yet another Ipswich icon .

Susan Ellul from Banjo's Bar.

THEY fought the good fight for as long as they could, but the doors will close on yet another Ipswich icon struck down by the downturn in business.

Banjo’s served home-cooked meals and poured cold beers for its loyal customers for more than 16 years.

Tonight, everyone in Ipswich is invited to say farewell to the venue, with one last meal service of its famous home-cooked meals.

The Queensland Railway Institute venue was favoured by former railway workers for their reunions, catch-ups and functions, but head office said the venue had to close because of nosediving profits.

After losing their car park next door, along with the drop in foot traffic due to the mall refurbishment, the team at Banjo’s held on for as long as they could.

Ironically it will close just 48 hours after the new mall reopened.

Former bookkeeper Ray Dakin became manager after long term volunteer manager Craig Dora was injured.

“He was our mainstay here and had been running things for heaven knows how long,” Mr Dakin said.

“I love Friday nights here, lots of mates and a good group of people.

“Our touch footy team has been going for 26 years.

“We have one full time staff member and a few casuals, they are pretty upset as they will have to find new jobs.

“Parking was the big issue that started it all, there was a carpark right next door and people could pull up and walk straight in, sometimes we had to have two sittings to meet demand.

“Now a normal night here is 20, 25 people, all the regulars.”

Susan Ellul calls herself “the all-rounder” at Banjo’s.

She said she was sad the way things turned out.

“I’m the barmaid, the kitchen hand, the cook: the food here has always been fantastic,” Ms Ellul said.

“We’ve always offered decent homemade food, I’ll be very sad.

“The change of routine will be hard.

“The thing I’ll miss most is all the friendly people, we have many regulars.

“People love the size of our meals, I always get positive feedback.

“Thanks for coming and supporting Banjo’s, we’d love to see everyone give the place a good send off.”

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