Ways of Seeing is a project that aims to give insight into these often subtle and untold stories.
IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK
Robbie
Bangladesh
Los Dos Hombres
Year: 2021 Photographer: Grace Picot Words: Tim Boreham
Down a quiet side street off the main drag of the Entrance, you’ll find a colourful and busy Mexican restaurant adored by the locals and packed with tourists on warm summer nights. The side street is lit up by dreamy fairy lights and loud conversations reverberating down the Entrance arcade from the street-side dining. If you didn’t book ahead, you may be waiting a while. The owner of this popular spot is Robbie, a quietly spoken man who is loved by the locals and remembered always by the holidaymakers who visit every year. Robbie knows most people on a first name basis—probably helped by the fact he owns two other food spots a stone’s throw away: Cafe Escape directly next door and more recently, the iconic Frank’s Pizza that sits alongside the Entrance cinema complex. It’s clear Robbie knows what it takes to survive in the competitive and often fickle food industry. He believes in connecting with his community and providing not just great food, but the kind of customer service that has people returning week after week.
In There Own Words
How long have you been set up in the Entrance and what did you find so appealing about the area?
I lived in Sydney for six years and then I came in 2013 to the Entrance. What I liked about this place was its small community feel. In Bangladesh, we have big cities and also small villages. In the villages, people are nice and will say hello and everything like that. I find the Entrance is the same as those small villages. The people, they are very nice; all the locals didn’t treat me like a foreigner, they didn’t treat me as an Indian or something else, nowadays they treat me as their own. If people here know you are in any trouble they come to help you as well. People over here are looking after each other and these are the things I like a lot about the Entrance.
In the past couple of years you have rather quickly bought two more businesses, all in the same area. You must see a lot of potential.
The businesses I have bring me a lot of happiness. Lots and lots of different people are coming in and saying hello, we are connecting. And maybe with Franks Pizza, I can bring something different again to the Entrance. I’ve had a few offers to go back to Sydney but I don’t want to go, I love this place and the people here, I see a lot of them as family. I just want to expand the business over here so I can hopefully give the people here something new and something interesting. I always tell my staff to take care of the locals, because with the tourists they come for three or four weeks over Christmas and then they are gone. If you can’t take care of the locals, then you can’t survive.
“I don’t believe in luck, you have to work hard, what ever you try to achieve you have to go for it…”
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How does your cultural heritage influence your business?
In Bangladesh or India, we always would see our parents spend four or five hours in the kitchen. Food is the biggest passion in our country, so I love the food business. You are serving food to the people, it’s a modest profession. When people come to my restaurants I am serving them food, and it is a pleasure.
How much of your success is luck? And how much is hard work?
I don’t believe in luck, you have to work hard. Whatever you try to achieve you have to go for it, you have to work. I remember I used to work seven days a week, 15 hours a day, and there were no customers but we were still trying and working hard. And now, we are in this position with a busy restaurant and a big following.
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We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we live, work and play. We pay our respects to the Elders, past, present and emerging and recognise their continued connection to these lands and waterways. We acknowledge our shared responsibility to care for and protect our place and people.
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