After 18 months in operation, Low N Slow Meat Co, the upmarket and innovative BBQ retailer, unexpectedly announced its permanent closure at the Rivermakers precinct in Morningside.
The decision to shut down came just two days after Rivermakers had over thousands of visitors for a food and music festival, where Low N Slow Meat Co was one of the purveyors.
In an Instagram post on 23 April 2023, owner Brent Poulter disclosed that they were not forced out of the precinct and the decision to close the restaurant was their own. The owners also cited “many factors that went out of control” leading up to their decision.
“Any good BBQer will understand if you starve a fire from oxygen it will go out, unfortunately, due to many factors out of our control the oxygen in our fire has been very limited and the fire is just about out, it’s an impossible situation,” he said.
“Low N Slow started 6 years ago in Tingalpa, it was a passion project that bought a love for great quality meat and live fire cooking together in the one spot. It changed the shape of butchers in general with many implementing a low n slow style into their operations, ultimately lifting the awareness of this style of cooking and eating for the greater good.
“It’s been an awesome 6 years of Low N Slow Meat Co, from back in the early days in Tinglapa all the way until now. We have taught and hopefully improved hundreds of people’s BBQ skills and opened the door for many more to venture down the rabbit hole of BBQ.
“Customers have become friends and experiences had that won’t be forgotten.
“In the recent couple of years since being at Rivermakers, the Bulimba, Morningside, and Hawthorne locals have been so supportive and we are appreciative of their patronage.”
The closure comes following reports that Rivermakers landlord Balfour Irvine has been wrapped up in a legal tussle with Council over the butchery since 2021. Enforcement notices were sent to the landlord to stop the butchery from selling meat until the precinct received “all relevant approvals.” The venue was also not supposed to be used as a meat warehouse for the goods sold at Low N Slow.
However, planning experts representing Rivermakers insisted that the storing, processing and distribution or selling of meat products were considered “ancillary use.” The representatives filed a separate development application (DA A005804996) in early 2022 for Material Change of Use of the site a food and drink outlet. The DA, which received nearly 5,000 submissions, is currently on appeal.
Published 2-May-2023
