Geronimo Aperitivo Bar and Restaurant closing after eight years

One of Tasmania’s top restaurants, the recipient of multiple Chef Hats from the Australian Good Food Guide, will close for good this month as the owner seeks new opportunities.

Geronimo Aperitivo Bar and Restaurant is closing after eight years in operation. Picture: Facebook/ Geronimo Aperitivo Bar and Restaurant.

One of Tasmania’s best restaurants is set to call last drinks, with its owner revealing he and his wife are seeking a more family-friendly investment in the wake of the birth of their second child in June.

The final service of Geronimo Aperitivo Bar and Restaurant, which opened in August 2015 on Launceston’s Charles St, will be on September 17, owner and co-founder Jeremy Kode said.

Announcing the news on social media, Mr Kode said the closure of Geronimo represented the “end of an era”.

“After an incredible eight years of being part of the Launceston community, the time has come to close our doors at Geronimo,” he said.

“It has been such a privilege to have looked after so many incredible customers over our journey.

“It’s been a wild ride and we are so grateful for all of the support we have received.

“When I opened the business I was a young, 20-something man with no family.

Geronimo Aperitivo Bar and Restaurant owner Jeremy Kode. Picture: Instagram/ In the Drink.

“Life has changed for the better and I find myself married to my beautiful wife [Aimee], we have a young daughter who is growing up too fast and our baby boy who arrived in June.

“As a family, we have decided that this chapter ends for us and we refocus in a different direction with the acquisition of a new business, which will allow for more family time, which is incredibly important to us.”

Mr Kode and his wife also own the Shearwater IGA via Mr Kode’s company B&S Investments Australia Pty Ltd.

When contacted by the Mercury for more details about his future plans, favourite Geronimo memories, and how he saw the development of the city’s gastronomic scene, Mr Kode said he would be too busy to speak for at least a fortnight as he winds up the restaurant.

Geronimo was founded alongside German-born Viktoria Neumann, who Mr Kode met while working together in Shanghai.

In its eight years of operation, Geronimo went on to become one of Launceston’s most awarded restaurants, a vanguard that also included Grain of the Silos, Stillwater, Black Cow, and Timbre.

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It received multiple Chef Hat and Readers’ Choice awards in the annual Australian Good Food Guide, collecting gongs right up until 2023.

Geronimo’s compatriots took to social media to laud the departing restaurant.

“Congratulations Jeremy and team on being such a successful part of Launceston dining culture,” said The Royal Oak Hotel.

“You created an incredible something out of nothing. You created a beautiful space, dining culture and following that is testament to your hard work,” said Ritsa Nicholas, owner of Elaia Cafe and Restaurant.

“An incredible job revitalising the Launceston dining scene,” said Launceston Health Hub owner Dr Jerome Muir-Wilson.