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A POPULAR Indian restaurant in the heart of the CBD will remain in the heritage-listed building it has called home for more than a decade after councillors voted for a new lease to be offered to the business owner.
Indian Mehfil’s lease for the council-owned building at 116 Brisbane Street was due to expire on June 30.
The council will now enter into a new five-year lease with owner Raj Sharma to remain in the building built in 1878. Priyanka Sharma and Baljit Sanger ahead of the 2019 Diwali Festival. The Sharmas organise the annual event.
All councillors voted in favour of this option with the exception of Division 3’s Andrew Fechner, who was out of the room due to a conflict of interest related to his family’s business in the city centre.
The lease for the building is due to expire this year. Council officers outlined how the 143-year-old building be could used as a bistro or cafe to compliment the Ipswich Art Gallery next door instead
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We are all familiar with that romantic, ‘Peace on Earth’ Christmas fantasy depicted in Hollywood movies, where families stroll snow-lined streets without a care in the world, and everyone is smiling and happy, and looking forward to unwrapping all those presents under the tree.
Unfortunately, we know the real world is not like that, and not least for the lack of snow.
It has been a tough year for everybody, and for those families who were already struggling, events of 2020 may well have tipped them over the edge.
While the Christmas fantasy is just a fantasy, the Christmas spirit is real within the Ipswich community, and it was particularly evident this year.