Kingston restaurant Queenies closes after roof damage derails recovery
Queenies, a six-year-old Kingston restaurant with an entirely gluten-free menu, closes on October 31. Roof repairs disrupted the business.
Queenies will serve its final dinner on October 31. Owner Pamela Howarth announced the closure on Facebook.
The restaurant was badly damaged by a hailstorm in 2020. Tenants including Queenies were told the roof would be removed for 10-week repairs earlier this year.
This would force closure and staff layoffs. Then bookings were cancelled after a follow-up email said repairs would not happen.
The uncertainty broke the already fragile hospitality business, Howarth wrote. Queenies was known for its entirely gluten-free menu.
Making this food is hard work. A 10-kilogram bag of ordinary flour costs around $10 to $15.
A 15-kilogram bag of gluten-free flour is $98, and harder to find. The sister venue Eve by Queenies is also in Kingston.
Executive chef Adrianne 'Adi' Davo runs it. It will continue with the same gluten-free focus.
- Pamela Howarth
- Owner
- October 31
- Final service
- AUD$98 for 15kg
- Gluten-free flour cost
- Eve by Queenies, run by Chef Adi Davo
- Sister venue
Why it mattersThe closure shows growing pressure on independent restaurants. It removes a specialist dining option that is rare in Canberra.
AustraliaCanberra's gluten-free dining community loses a dedicated venue after several other fine dining spots shuttered in Kingston this year.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 3 h ago
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