Gus's cafe was a café located in

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. It opened in 1969 and later became the first outdoor pavement cafe in Canberra. It was one of the oldest and best known cafes in Canberra and one of the first

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an-style cafes in Australia. It had both outdoor and indoor dining areas. The cafe closed in January 2024, but is intended to be re-opened in several years. It will be at the base of the Garema Place Hotel, which will occupy the café's original space.

History

The cafe was established by Augustin 'Gus' Petersilka (20 July 1918 – 23 October 1994) who emigrated to Australia from

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in 1951 and arrived in Canberra in 1962. Petersilka had difficulties with introducing this new style of dining to Canberra as it was against the regulations of the time for people to sit outside in a cafe or restaurant, and he had several well-publicised clashes with bureaucrats. A plaque on the pavement outside Gus's cafe marks the occasion of Gus Petersilka being made the Canberran of the Year for 1978. It reads: Petersilka was commemorated on 14 November 2002, by having a street named after him in the Canberra district of

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. The cafe was heritage listed in 2011. On 11 March 2011, Gus's was added to the Australian Capital Territory Heritage Register. The listing requires the conservation of the "intangible social value attributed to the location Gus’ café" and a plaque dedicated to the cafe rather than the cafe itself. On 9 March 2012, Gus's was temporarily closed down by the ACT Health Directorate for serious food safety breaches and risks to the public. The cafe closed in late June 2016 and was sold. It re-opened in September 2017 as Gus' Place. Gus' Place closed on 14 January 2024 ahead of the demolition of the building it was located in to build a luxury hotel. The proposed design for the hotel includes a new cafe to be called Gus' Place which will be located at the site of the previous cafe.

References

Australian Capital Territory Heritage Register Bakery cafés Buildings and structures in Canberra Coffeehouses and cafés in Australia Restaurants in Canberra {{canberra-stub