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Jabiru: Nundah’s Most Popular Mediterranean-Inspired Cafe and Bar

Featuring a variety of curated Australian-Mediterranean inspired dishes, Jabiru Nundah offers an exotic breakfast and lunch experience unlike anything Nundah has ever seen.

Rocking a Mediterranean-inspired menu with an Australian twist, Jabiru Nundah offers a wide range of brunch fare. One of their signature dishes is Eggs Benedict and it is available in six different ways. Local favourites include ham and sauteed mushroom, baby spinach and bacon, and smoked salmon and avocado, all served with turkish bread and their custom ‘Jabiru’s Own Hollandaise Sauce’.

Burgers, sandwiches, and salads are also popular with the cafe’s patrons. There are vegetarian and vegan options for those with dietary restrictions. Bread used in sandwiches and breakfast dishes can also be replaced with gluten-free substitutes. Add-ons are available to complement each order, with a variety of sides including corn and zucchini fritters, eggs, smoked salmon, and off-the-bone ham.

Coffees, milkshakes, and frappes are also available. The café sports a distinct colour palette that puts a heavy emphasis on blue and green, playing into its Mediterranean influences.

Reviews on Facebook are overwhelmingly positive, with many mentioning the cafe’s delicious meals and superb service, raving over the friendly staff and how it was “a great addition to Nundah.”

However, food and service aside, Jabiru’s biggest takeaway from the locals was that it was the perfect place to go for breakfast. Patrons also liked that it’s a pet-friendly café.

Photo credit: Facebook/Jabiru Cafe & Bar – Nundah

Jabiru can be found at Shop 7, 89 Buckland Road, open on weekdays from 7am onwards. For more information, visit their website. Follow their social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates on meals, deals, and upcoming dates and events.

Coles Toombul Trials New Dog Food Pick ‘n’ Mix

Supermarket chain Coles is trialing a new method of selling dog food to its customers in Nundah by allowing them to purchase pick ‘n’ mix bags of treats via special snack dispensers.

With the new addition of special pick ‘n’ mix snack dispensers, the Coles branch at the Toombul Shopping Centre allows dog owners to mix and match some of their pet’s favourite treats. Following the pandemic, many Queensland residents found themselves stuck at home. Given the complications that came with spending time with friends and family, people opted to stave off loneliness by taking on canine companions.

As a result, the pet market has boomed, and Coles aims to cater to dog owners by providing them with more convenient ways of purchasing the food and products necessary to keep their pups pampered and happy.

Some of the food items up for grabs at these dispensers include kangaroo tails and crocodile sausages, as well as a variety of training treats to facilitate dog training sessions. Training treats in particular play an important role in teaching dogs new behaviours, and having a variety helps owners discover their favorites while simultaneously preventing the dog from getting tired of having the same old snacks.

Pick ‘n’ mix pet food was previously trialed at one of Coles’ branches in Melbourne in 2019. Following its success, other pet food dispensers were set up at select venues — with Coles’ Toombul being one of the first in all of Queensland.

For more details on Coles, visit their website. Follow their social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates on deals, dates, and other special announcements.

Aether Brewing’s Beer Declared ‘Champion Strong Beer’ and QLD’s Best

Aether Brewing‘s “Hop, Skip & Jump” garnered back-to-back awards as “Champion Strong Beer” and “Best Queensland Beer of Show” at the recently concluded Royal Queensland Food & Wine Show (RQFWS) held at the Brisbane Showgrounds on the 3rd of March, 2021.

According to RQFWS Beer Advisory Group member and judge Steve Henderson, “IPA is a style of beer with many components that need to come together to create a balanced drinking experience,” which makes creating a particularly masterful and award-winning IPA a difficult task.

Aether Brewing’s award-winning IPA, “Hop, Skip & Jump”.
Photo Credit: Facebook/Aether Brewing

“…the Aether team is laser focused on improving their product with each batch they brew,” Mr. Henderson adds. “I look forward to seeing Aether Brewing’s beers distributed nationally as the whole of Australia needs to see how good Queensland craft beer is.”

Earning a grand total of 18.0 points in the Strong Beer category, Hop, Skip & Jump beat out 22 other submissions to win a Gold award — one of the 39 given out amongst 485 different entries.

The Aether Brewing brewery can be found at 340 Melton Rd, Northgate. They’re open from 3:00PM to 7:00PM on Friday and 12:00PM to 7:00PM on Saturdays and Sundays. Follow their social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates. For more details, visit their website.

This New Cafe In Banyo Offers A Nice Little Spot for Outdoor Dining

Photo credit: The Ole Dairy/Facebook

Banyo is one of the lovely areas in Brisbane, and its cafes, emerging at a vast rate, provide some of the best opportunities for fun and relaxation. One of the newly opened cafes in the suburb is The Ole Dairy, a family-friendly cafe that opens for breakfast and lunch.

With its stunning view of the fields, it’s probably one of the best places to stop in and get some work done or just have a breather. They offer a seasonally rotating menu of sweets, ice cream, malted milkshakes, and sliders.

One of the highlights here is crab sandwich, served fresh with lettuce, Marie Rose sauce, and lemon and goes perfectly with a cup of coffee courtesy of Fox. The Fraser Island Spanner Crab sandwich, the cafe’s signature dish, also comes with a gluten-free version.

If you feel like dining outdoors, you can enjoy your breakfast or lunch in their new dining area outside, which is socially distanced, pet friendly, and shady.

Owned by Katrina Matthews, a former international flight attendant and Benita Orwell, a 2017 MasterChef contestant, this cafe was born out of the two ladies’ passion for cooking.

Team Ole Dairy (Photo credit: The Ole Dairy/Facebook)

“I’m currently on maternity leave, and because of what Covid is throwing at us I decided that I would follow my passion of owning a café and now here I am,” Matthews shared. Now, The Ole Dairy has received many good reviews, and her co-owner Beni can’t get more excited to welcome visitors to their new cafe.

The Ole Dairy is open every Wednesday to Sunday from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm. Friday trading hours extend up to 3:30 pm. Do note that on some days, customer parking is plentiful both onsite and in the nearby streets.

Luxe Health Hub Function Well to Open at Toombul Shopping Centre

Function Well, Newstead’s five-star health hub and luxury gym, is expanding to a second location at the Toombul shopping centre in Nundah and it has started pooling its membership.

Eyed for an April 2021 opening, the wellness centre will occupy Toombul’s third floor, right below the former site of Sizzler and accessible through the UPSTAIRS dining and entertainment hub.

Construction work has been steadily ramping up for Function Well to meet its targetted opening date whilst the club has recently been accepting sign-ups for over 95 classes a week.

As with the Newstead venue, this fully-equipped 24-hour gym will have yoga, pilates, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), metabolic conditioning (METCON), crossfit training, and boxing.

Members may also indulge and restore their body after a fulfilling workout in the steam room, infrared saunas and ice baths, red light therapy or meditation zone.

After working out or restoration, they may also re-energise at the Be Well Bar and order a bowl of nutritious salads, or a glass of smoothie.

ATHLETIC ZONE	GYM ZONE	RESTORATION ZONE
Crossfit	HIIT	Yoga and Pilates classes
MetCon	MetCon	Meditation Space
Gymnastics	Boxing	Ice Bath
Weightlifting	Strength and Conditioning	LED Therapy Lights
	Personal Training	Sauna and Steam
		Infrared Sauna
		Wellness Education
		Hypervolt Recovery
		NormaTec Boots

Darren Bain is the man credited for Function Well. The former Wynnum-Manly Seagulls captain travelled around the world to gain insights about fitness and wellness and to learn about the Chinese Yin and Yang philosophy that drives balance and high performance, which served as the tenet of his health hub.

Virginia’s Big Girls Don’t Cry to Come Back as Curvy

A Virginia plus size lingerie store has gotten a second wind barely a month after announcing it has shut down the business. Big Girls Don’t Cry (Anymore) will soon be joining the Curvy family from Lane Cove, NSW.

Big Girls announced the latest development, saying that the online store will be back in operation “very soon.”

“Big Girls has changed ownership and will be joining the Curvy.com.au family. We’re working around the clock to resume the online operations in the coming days.”

Karen Mason, Big Girls’ founder, decided to close her store in December 2020 after a year of struggle. Her husband, Keith, passed away in May and her liquidator Jarvis Archer said she could no longer sustain the business despite trying to keep it going with the help of her staff.

Ms Mason started her business in 1992 and soon expanded online as BrasToGo. Her suburban outlet in Virginia also serves as the warehouse. A recent expansion has been impacted by the pandemic as boxes of orders could not be delivered in time, resulting in cancellations.

Meanwhile, Curvy owner Wes Blundy started his business as a joint partnership with Bras N Things. Inspired by the system of Amazon.com, Curvy went solo in 2014 with the goal of providing plus-size pieces for the whole of Australia.

Mr Blundy believes that Big Girls and Curvy have gone through similar paths in the last year and felt that Mason’s store, now iconic, should thrive.

Curvy is working with Big Girls for the transfer of the business’ intellectual property (IP), inventory, as well as other related records and assets. Reopening the store in Virginia is still up for consideration.

Specialty Lingerie Business in Virginia Goes Bust Before Christmas

Big girls may have one reason to cry as this Brisbane-based lingerie business with a physical shop in Virginia goes under —- right before Christmas.

Big Girls Don’t Cry Anymore, a plus-sized brand that owner Karen Mason set up in 1992, has enlisted the help of a liquidator, Jarvis Archer.

On the online website, Ms Mason informed the customers of closing down her business, which has become an iconic brand in Australia.

According to Mr Archer, Big Girls Don’t Cry Anymore has over 100,000 customers in its database and earned $6 million this year. The company was planning to release the very first lingerie business app in Australia, which includes a virtual fitting room among other sophisticated features.

The liquidator also said that despite Ms Mason’s efforts to innovate and attract new customers, the business experienced challenges in the delays of overseas supplies due to COVID-19.

In May, Ms Mason lost her husband, Keith, further impacting her ability to maintain the business’s profitability and cash flow.

Big Girls Don’t Cry Anymore has 20 full-time workers and 33 casual staff who are hoping to keep their jobs if another entrepreneur takes over.

Mr Archer said that the business would be an attractive venture for the right buyer with its loyal customers, a knowledgeable team and a strong sales growth potential.

Virginia Lingerie Store Has 15 New Jobs But No Applicants

A Virginia lingerie store has 15 new jobs and has gone weeks without any takers. Owner Karen Edbrooke said that she has been looking for unpackers, order fillers and responders to enquires but she hasn’t had any luck because the applicants say they can get more money just by not working.

Ms Edbrooke runs the lingerie and swimsuit store Big Girls Don’t Cry Anymore on Sandgate Rd. She said that they currently have loads of product shipments and deliveries on hold. In the last few weeks, the shop owner said that she could not cope with the demands because she could not get applicants to stay or keep working.

Despite advertising for the job openings more than a month ago, Ms Edbrooke said many of the applicants actually do not want a job or prefer shorter work hours. She believes that many people have been demotivated to find work because of the government’s JobSeeker and JobKeeper payments amid this coronavirus crisis.

One applicant told the shop owner, “I can just get more [money] by not working,” referring to the government’s stimulus.

Photo Credit: Big Girls Don’t Cry Anymore/Facebook

Big Girls Don’t Cry Anymore is not the only retail store struggling to find staff.

“I have a friend in the same situation, his staff won’t come back to work. It’s ridiculous,” a follower of the store said on Facebook.

According to senior industrial relations specialist, Michael O’Brien, it is the retail and service industries struggling the most during this COVID-19 crisis. He said that those with junior roles work fewer hours but may also benefit from JobSeeker or JobKeeper for their second or third jobs.

“We are offering casual positions at the retail award rate, which can be accessed online to anyone. Hours vary on what you can offer us – anything from 16 hours to 38 hours,” Ms Edbrooke said.

But Ms Edbrooke said they received an overwhelming response even from outside Brisbane hours after her story broke in the media on 2 Aug 2020.

Big Girls Don’t Cry Anymore has been in business since 1992 and caters to well-endowed women. Most of the products are imported from America and this Virginia lingerie store also sells maternity bras, posture bras and bridal wear exclusively for big girls.

They claim to have the “largest range of fuller figured bras in Australia.”

Community Saves Dead But Popular Pompom Tree from Council Removal

A popular but dead pompom tree, marked for cutting down by the Brisbane CityCouncil, has been saved from removal on the beachside stretch of Shorncliffe Parade, thanks to an inspiring community spirit.

Despite its appearance, the tree has been a favourite local landmark during this COVID-19 lockdown. In the last few months, teens and kids have been hanging handmade colourful pompoms on the branches.

According to Councillor Jared Cassidy, the locals have likely been decorating the tree because it looked so bare and dull without its leaves. As the number of pompoms increased, the tiny tree soon became a whimsical decorative fixture on the street.

But a day after announcing that it will be gone in a few months, the Council took back its original plan and decided to leave the tree up with all of its handmade pompoms intact.

“We’ve taken another look at it and because there’s such great community spirit around this it will stay longer,” Mr Cassidy said. “There’s no threat to public safety and it won’t come down anytime soon.”

*Photo Credit: David Holden/Sandgate QLD Area/Facebook*

Mr Cassidy said that the pompom tree has been a silver lining amid the pandemic. Not only did it spark community spirit and love for life in the suburbs but it also brought out the creative side of the locals.

The councillor also said that there will be a new tree planted nearby at Moora park. Once it grows and matures, it will be the only time the dead tree will be chopped down.

Nundah Artist Kenji Uranishi Makes Art Accessible to the Public in a Big Way

If you’ve been to the revitalised Kingsford Smith Drive riverside in Hamilton, you might have seen a number of brightly coloured public artwork around the area. These are the art beacons created by Nundah artist Kenji Uranishi, who was commissioned by the Council to beautify one of Brisbane’s most significant routes.

Who Is Kenji Uranishi?

Mr Uranishi was born in Japan and trained as an artist using stoneware clay as a medium at the Nara College of Fine Arts. He moved to Australia in 2004 and expanded his practice to porcelain.

The artist eventually established himself in the Australian art world by holding a series of workshops and exhibits in universities and galleries, not just in Brisbane but also in Sydney, Cairns, Canberra, Adelaide, Victoria, England, Sweden, New York and Japan.

“In some ways, moving to Australia represented a fresh phase in my life that provided me with the energy to explore new materials, without cultural expectations,” Mr Uranishi said.

He has other public artworks on display at the Ipswich Courthouse and at 400 George Street.

Read: Nundah Local Makes Useful App to Track Safest Routes

Magnificent Flying Machines

In mid-2017, the Council tapped Uranishi to prepare his concept designs for the beacons, alongside another artist, for public consultation.

Mr Uranishi dubbed his creation as the “Magnificent Flying Machines,” which consists of 10 sculptured beacons that also double as a lightning path for Kingsford Smith Drive at night. Two of these beacons have been installed at Cameron Rocks Reserve in April 2019, whilst the rest will be located at Bretts Wharf and the Riverwalk.

These beacons were inspired by Hamilton aviators Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, the first pilot to fly trans-Pacific from Australia to the United States, and Maude “Lores” Bonney, the first female Australian aviator to fly solo from Australia to England.

Featured with an aerodynamic design, the intertwining curves of the beacons represent the pioneering spirit of these aviators, which also resembles the wings of an orchard swallowtail butterfly, the most common butterfly species in Brisbane.

“The art beacons are designed to maximise public access to the river and create way-finding markers to encourage exploration and make it easier for visitors to move around the local area,” the Council press release stated.

Lendlease manufactured the beacons made of 3mm aluminium. Mr Uranishi hand-decorated every piece with 300 white polyethylene discs and added white LED lights at the base.