If you tried ordering a pizza online or by phone with Eagle Boys at Cannonvale this evening, you would have thought the store hadn't opened for the day. And it hadn't.
It looks like the Eagle Boys franchise in the Whitsundays Shopping Centre at Cannonvale has closed its doors to the public for the last time.
This is the fifth food franchise to leave the Whitsundays in the last couple of years. And these aren't little franchises either.
A few months ago, Red Rooster, just 100m from Eagle Boys, closed it doors. A Red Rooster franchise isn't cheap and not something to walk away from - one insider says it costs $500K for a Red Rooster franchise. (Subway is apparently one of the cheapest at $250k).
A couple of years ago the locals had to get used to Red Rooster as KFC closed its doors in Airlie Beach. This was around the same time Nandoz tried a six month experiment in Airlie Beach underneath Mama Africas nightclub.
Jamaica Joes tried hard (after an unsuccessful first night) for 18 months, but went north a bit over a year ago.
It's interesting to note that the take away / sit in food venues that have closed, cater for the lower end of the tourist market. The best restaurants in town continue to survive, just.
However, some restaurants and bars that cater for a 4 & 5 star market have also come and gone. But where as a few of the upmarket venues have closed, almost all fast food franchisees have left town, except for Dominos Pizzas, McDonalds, & Subway. (Hungry Jacks opened in Cannonvale about a year ago).
I've always thought the reaon we had a lot of take away outlets for so few permanent residents was because a lot of the people staying in town overnight didn't have access to a kitchen, or were shift workers to the tourism industry.
It is not a good sign when almost all of them close down.
2 comments:
Domino Pizzas is in Airlie Beach still!!
Very true - my apologies.
Yes, Dominos Pizzas have been in Airlie Beach for quite a few years, next door to the YHA.
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