Cut up over carvery end

IT’S an end of a culinary era for one of Townsville’s longest running eateries.

The Kmart Plaza Carvery in Aitkenvale has closed after more than 20 years trading.

Owner Natalie Kuwajima said the city’s tough economic environment was a factor in the business closing.

“The overheads kept going up, but there is only so much people will pay for a meal,” she said. “We couldn’t keep up with the high cost of running a business.”

Ms Kuwajima, who bought the small business in 2015 with Wayne Solis, previously operated a post office on Thursday Island.

The carvery had earned a reputation as the place to fuel up during a shopping spree, and Ms Kuwajima said she had plenty of loyal customers.

“We’d have customers that ranged from the young ones to 99 year olds,” she said.

“A lot of the older customers have been coming in to the carvery for decades for a meal and a catch up with old friends.

“It was quite the meeting place for many people.”

But good food and a bustling restaurant were not enough to sustain the business.

“It is the sign of the times,” she said. “Businesses close and it’s devastating for the owners, sad for the customers.

“We felt we couldn’t continue with the venture.”

Ms Kuwajima said she was relieved her loyal staff had all found jobs within a week of the Carvery closing.

“As for me, I’m not sure what is next,” she said. “It’s not easy going from working long hours at a business to not doing that anymore.”

Townsville Chamber of Commerce president Debbie Rains said it was always distressing to learn of another local business closure.

“There’s no doubt that the business environment in Townsville is tough at the moment, and that’s why the chamber of commerce is promoting and supporting the buy local campaign,” she said.

“Locals need to support locals ( businesses). Local money needs to stay in the city.”

Ms Rains said this year Townsville would benefit from a substantial upswing in projects. “There are strong indicators of a more positive trading environment to come,” she said. “Millions of dollars worth of investment is set to flow into the city’s economy this year, with the workforce on major projects such as the North Queensland Stadium and the Haughton Pipeline Duplication poised to take off.”