Toowoomba cafes, eateries enjoy business boost thanks to #trEATS foodie campaign at Carnival of Flowers
It’s helped showcase some of the Toowoomba region’s finest eateries and cafes to an army of tourists. Local businesses say the return of a foodie campaign has created new customers.
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Business at Lisa Bentley’s cafe in the Toowoomba CBD has been “crazy” during the Carnival of Flowers — and she’s putting the success partially down to a special $20 dish.
The co-owner of Jilly’s Cafe on Margaret Street has been thrilled by the outcomes from the eatery’s participation in the #trEATS initiative, which returned this year as a way of promoting small businesses.
More than 30 cafes and restaurants were involved in the campaign, with each business creating a new dish for $20 or less that was available throughout September.
Dishes were featured in a pamphlet and on the Carnival of Flowers website, with the goal of attracting foodies looking for delicious meals.
Ms Bentley said Jilly’s, which came up with an incredible cinnamon french toast dish with ice-cream and a caramel sauce, had already sold more than 90 plates as of Saturday.
“It is close to what we sold the entire month last year and we’re only halfway through September,” she said.
“We’ve had about 90 sales, which is massive because we had 120 meals last year.
“People are out and about wanting to try food – they’ll get the pamphlet and chose where they want to go.
“People who bought it were all sharing a meal, because they were going to a few different places (with #trEATS meals).
“It creates a bit of buzz when people are in town.”
Ms Bentley said she was happy with splitting the carnival’s major events over two weekends, calling the trial a big success for local businesses.
“Business has been crazy from September 1, it’s been really good,” she said.
The eateries involved were not confined to Toowoomba either, with three venues from Cecil Plains, Clifton and Cabarlah respectively putting up delicious meals for it.
The #trEATS initiative runs until September 30.
To check out all the meals from participating venues, head to the website at tcof.com.au/treats.
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