Owner operators of the newly opened Side Piece Coffee in Varsity, Miles Gaebel, Dylan Jamsa and Lee King, had long histories in hospitality before joining their skills to open their own cafe overlooking Varsity. When we popped in for a visit in their first week, the trio was so full of enthusiasm for their new...

While travel has been off the agenda for a couple of years, The Brooklyn Wine + Tapas, with its intimate downtown bar vibes and stunning food is a venue that brings an international dining experience to us. Husband-and-wife duo, Shaun Dunn and Leisa Provost opened The Brooklyn Wine + Tapas in January 2021, their first...

Entering Blackboard Varsity you get the feels. It’s a chilled place where you feel comfortable. Some patrons are working on laptops, others sipping coffee or talking to friends. Staff smile and say hello in passing. It strikes me that this is a happy place, ‘inclusive’ in every way. ‘Good times daily in the heart of...

Twenty 8 Delights is a fledgling Gold Coast cake baking business that emerged from Covid lockdown. Sisters Sheryl and Iris Lim both have professional careers, but for Sheryl baking is her ‘happy place’. Sheryl is an extremely talented self-trained baker who has perfected her craft by learning from the internet and recipe books, improving her...

There’s nothing random about success. I can feel it around me when we visit Wildflower Distilling. Feel it as I take the crystal glass that’s handed to me, a piece of dehydrated orange floating on the clear liquid as I take a tentative sip. Satin. The sensation of silkiness spreads across my tongue with barely...

How do you like your beer? Preservative, additive and chemical free, hangover-proofed, sparklingly clear, locally made, brewed just the way you like it? We found such a beer in a boutique Burleigh restaurant, so we went looking for its source: Aardvark and Arrow Brewery in Varsity, our own Gold Coast owned and operated microbrewery! If...