Bodega Restaurant

The Bodega Restaurant was established by Lin Murdoch in 1973. The site was purchased by the Murdoch family in 1966 when it was a general store. In the intervening years, the general store was reinvented as wholesale wine market Murdoch Cellars before the classic Bodega Restaurant was built and opened with Murdoch Cellars as an attached bottle shop.

The Bodega Restaurant was a cultural icon and established an exotic international presence in Ipswich with its Spanish theme and multicultural menu. The Bodega sold itself as a venue for upscale events, particularly weddings and business functions, but it was also known for flamenco dance nights.

The son of the original owners, Doug Murdoch, worked at the Bodega starting in 1978. In 1997, Doug managed and owned the restaurant, taking it over from his parents.

In 2004, the Bodega Restaurant was owned by Martin Sammut who was named The University of Queensland’s Young Alumnus of the Year for 2004. During Sammut’s ownership, the Bodega Restaurant was rebranded as the Pancake Manor and the surrounding property hosted Sammut’s accountancy firm, an art gallery, a boutique nursery, a hair and beauty salon, and office space.

Sammut’s purchase of the property included the iconic wine bottle fountain which originally stood in front of the restaurant. Sammut sold the fountain and donated some of the funds to the Ipswich Hospice.

The inestimable Beryl Johnston wrote a Times Past column featuring the Bodega Restaurant in 2015.

In 2017, the Bodega was refurbished and renamed as Casa Mia by owner Mario Grimaldi, whose family had been in the restaurant business since 1969.