‘Fun dining’ venue Tuckshop opens in Bangalow

THE team behind much-loved Bangalow café Woods has opened a new venture in the town’s main street.

Partly driven by the planned development of the arts precinct, in which Woods is located, Sam Campbell and Andy Maloney have launched Tuckshop on the corner opposite Bangalow Public School.

The space was previously occupied by Chinese restaurant Tsangs and more recently Mexican eatery Corner Cartel.

“We love Bangalow so much and we want to secure our future here,” Campbell said.

“We also run a catering company and always dabbled in events at Woods in the summer, but it rains a lot at that time of year and being an open-air venue it’s very difficult to guarantee you get customers.

“We wanted a space that doesn’t compete against Woods but complements it and we wanted to revive the space. It’s been a restaurant space for more than 20 years.”

Campbell said Tuckshop has a casual, family-friendly vibe, with a “nostalgic Australia” food offering. “Australia is a country full of immigration and different cultures, so I wanted to showcase a little bit of everything,” he said. “It’s about fun dining, not fine dining.”

As Campbell is originally from New Zealand, the menu features ‘fush and chups’, as well as platters and salad bowls. It also serves ‘after school snacks’, including Spiders with a scoop of ice-cream and milkshakes for kids, plus affogato and wine for mums. It also has special family feasts on Wednesday nights, an a la carte menu with dishes such as wagyu flank steak Thursday to Saturday nights and offerings such as pop-up fried chicken on Sunday.

The pair have transformed the space, repainting it with strong use of heritage colours, including red and green, with walls decorated with artworks from Pack Gallery and plenty of plants.

“Andy has a fashion design degree so he’s the brains behind the aesthetics – I’m the food and hospitality guy,” Campbell said. “He’s also a botanical stylist, that’s one of his passions.”