Serving up pub-style food, Somewhere to Eat has opened its doors at Bundaberg Golf Club with owners Ashleigh and Jason Bowman excited about the new venture.
Taking the leap from running multiple food stalls at Riverfeast and catering from a mobile food van, to now serving delicious meals straight to seated guests, Ashleigh said the business had grown at an extraordinary rate.
Starting in the hospitality industry as a teenager Ashleigh said she had her heart set on one day opening a restaurant and now that dream had come true.
“I started at Lushus Cakes when I was 14, so I guess I have always just loved hospitality,” Ashleigh said.
“We’ve had this long relationship with the guys from Riverfeast, but we couldn’t resist this opportunity.
“I quit my job in December to follow the dream of going fulltime in hospitality.
“It was two days after Christmas when my husband and I thought we would give this a real go.
“We started out small and we were offering heat and eat meals, with the help of some close friends, from our food van, but we grew so quickly – we got big fast with the heat and eat meals – too big for our van kitchen.”
The new venture came about inadvertently after Somewhere to Eat catered a private function at Bundaberg Golf Course.
“We will have a menu serving steaks, parmigiana, pizza and all the pub grub sort of food,” Ashleigh said.
“Yes, we will still cook and deliver our heat and eat meals, as it’s going really well.
“We have our regulars, and it’s quite popular for shift workers, and we offer family size meals too.
“Bookings are essential, and we will cater for dietary requirements, including smaller meals as both of us have had gastric surgery, so we know from personal experience how hard it can be to get meals to suit everybody.
Bundaberg Golf Club president Geoff Loveday welcomed the new restaurant after their kitchen had been vacant for some years.
“From our point of view it's good news and a positive step forward for us – so definitely a win-win,” Geoff said.
Somewhere to Eat will open to the public on Friday and Saturday evening, and the team will also cater from the mobile food van onsite at Bundaberg Golf Course of a Saturday morning and continue catering other private functions throughout the week.
For more information head to the Somewhere to Eat Facebook page.
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