shelve

Cafe Royal in Bundaberg

from State Library of Queensland

• Vesna Verencevic said:

  The Lathouras family's Cafe Royal was just down the road at number 41, and opened soon after brothers Mick, Mark, Jim and Jack emigrated from Turkey and arrived in Bundaberg about 1920. The brothers installed silky oak tables and chairs, refrigeration and a marble soda fountain for making ice-cream sodas, and they imported crockery from England that was embossed with their own Lathouras Brothers logo. As business improved, they opened a second cafe, called the Elite Cafe, with mirror-back bars, glass shelves holding glasses and ice-cream dishes, and paintings of their ice-creams and drinks on the mirrors. The menu in those days was mainly light refreshments, such as ham and eggs, toasted sandwiches, fresh fruit, and tea and coffee, as well as ice cream sodas, malted milks and milkshakes. Later the menu grew, with grills, roasts of the day, fish and chips, casseroles, soups and three-course meals. As the brothers started to get married and have families, the running of the cafes changed hands over the years, with Jack's sons George and Theo teaming up with Mick's brother-in-law, Con Catimergis, to take over the Elite in 1957. Mark was able to buy the freehold of the Cafe Royal and an old theatre building at the rear - facing Woongarra St - the Queen's Theatre. George Lathouras later left the Elite and moved to Brisbane, leaving Theo and Con Catimergis to run the business. When Con died, Theo took over and ran it on his own until its closure. Source: www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/bundaberg/the-oldf...