When it comes to food and wine, we are spoilt for choice in the Riverina. Take a look at some of the great places – and people – we featured in 2025.
15. Bakers’ delight as Tumbarumba scores national pie honours
by Edwina Mason
Tumbarumba Bakery has won gold for its Pepper Pie and bronze for its Chunky Plain Meat Pie at a national competition, while Ladbroken’s distinctive Berrylicious Apple Pie was a bronze medal winner. Photo: Tumbarumba Bakery Facebook.
Tumbarumba has stamped its name on the nation’s pie map, with Ladbroken Distillery Brewhouse and Tumbarumba Bakery bringing home medals from the 36th Annual Great Aussie Pie Competition.
The ever-popular Tumbarumba Bakery has put the small mountain town on the map, scoring a gold medal with its Gourmet Pepper Pie and bronze for its Chunky Plain Meat Pie while Ladbroken took home a bronze medal with its distinctive Berrylicious Apple Pie.
The handmade gourmet pie was dreamed up by cook Marissa Marais who put her tastebuds to the test when she first joined the business.
14. Because food is medicine: Pharmacies embracing Farm Door Riverina’s ready-made goodness
by Jodie O’Sullivan
Cooked with care: Farm Door Riverina’s range of ready-made meals use ingredients sourced from local producers. Photos: Farm Door Riverina.
Made the old-fashioned way, HCP and NDIS clients are accessing Farm Door Riverina meals through their local pharmacy. And it turns out the healthy, home-style food is a huge hit.
13. Five minutes with Darren and Sarn Rudd, Hide Steak & Bar
by Erin Hee
Darren and Sarn Rudd bought Hide Steak & Bar 18 months ago and plan to open another restaurant. Photo: Erin Hee.
It’s been 18 months since Hide Steak & Bar changed hands, when it was sold by prolific restaurateur Jamie Shepley to Riverina husband-and-wife duo Darren and Sarn Rudd.
Aside from good food and drinks, the Rudds want everyone to have a good time, inspired by the couple’s overseas travels.
The chemistry between the couple is evident and together they create a dynamic that has produced some of the best grilled-meat dishes in the Riverina.
12. Lockhart butchery brings home the bacon at international awards show in Germany
by Oliver Jacques
Jared Walker with wife Amy, apprentice Mitch Matthews and butcher Russell Gleeson. Photo: Supplied.
Lockhart’s That Butcher Shop has outshone some of the world’s best meat merchants to win two gold medals at an international award show in Frankfurt, Germany.
Jared Walker and his team took out the top gong for his traditional bacon and chilli beer stix and a bronze medal for his Aussie hotdog at the 2025 IFFA DFV Quality International Competition.
11. Vinnie brings spices of Sri Lanka to Riverina at former Hog’s Breath site
by Jarryd Rowley
One8Zero By Vinnie’s Cuisines is the newest restaurant to hit Baylis Street and is offering signature Sri Lankan flavours. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
New restaurant One8Zero by Vinnie’s cuisines has opened its doors on Wagga’s Baylis Street, and it might be the only place in Australia where you can pair a parmi with a traditional Sri Lankan curry.
10. ‘Feels like you’re not in Griffith’: Unlikely team open stylish Milano’s Coffee House
by Oliver Jacques
Anthony Vecchio and Jorja Heffer opened Milano’s Coffee House on Tuesday. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
A veteran restaurateur has teamed up with a young first-time business owner to open Milano’s Coffee House, an eatery the duo says makes ‘you feel like you’re not in Griffith’.
Anthony Vecchio, 55, co-owned Il Corso in Wagga for many years and then ran Station 4 Cafe on Banna Avenue’s middle block, the site of which has been transformed into Milano’s Coffee House.
9. From Temora to Estella: Lynda’s Bakery and High Tea set to take over the Riverina
by Shri Gayathirie Rajen
Lynda Sheridan owns Temora’s Lynda’s Bakery and High Tea. Photo: Shri Gayathirie Rajen.
A delicious new chapter is opening in Wagga Wagga as a popular Riverina bakery prepares to serve the town its freshly baked signature pies and decadent desserts.
Temora’s Lynda Sheridan is expanding her renowned Lynda’s Bakery and High Tea, bringing her much-loved creations to Estella.
With more than 20 years’ experience as a pastry cook, Ms Sheridan has made a name for herself at local markets around the region, where her baked goods are often sold out in record time.
8. Anita and her ‘Cookie-Manster’ from Neat Bakes on love, baking and who’s the boss
by Marguerite McKinnon
Neat Bakes partners Anita and ‘”CookieManster” Tayloe put a lot of love into making their delicious cookies and cakes. Photo: Marguerite McKinnon.
She is the heart and soul of Wagga cookie and cake business Neat Bakes, but when Anita Schnoegl shared her baking secrets with her partner Tayloe Plunkett, things really took off.
“Tayloe’s now better at making cookies than I am; he’s the Cookie-Manster,” Anita said.
7. ‘Grandma’ opens Riverina’s first Islander shop and kava bar in East Griffith
by Oliver Jacques
Ali Cheema, ‘Grandma’ Alumita Dawai, Terri Bolatolu, Sevi Dawai and Mohammed Cheema celebrate the opening of Bubu’s Feast and Kava Bar. Photo: Supplied.
A Fijian woman who came to Griffith to pick fruit 35 years ago has fulfilled a longtime dream by opening an Islander shop and Kava Bar in town with her grandson. Here’s what Bubu’s Feast and Kava Bar has to offer.
6. ‘Alternative to supermarket’: Growers Hub officially opens its doors in Wagga
by Erin Hee
Rick Storrier, Zoe Lamont, Ben Hinkelmann and Haley Tait are excited that their vision has come to life. Photo: Erin Hee.
Wagga’s Growers Hub has officially opened its doors, providing an alternative for producers who have been watching prices go up at supermarket chains while they’ve operated at a loss.
Wagga residents can now shop at the ‘farmers’ market’ fresh food co-op opposite the South Wagga Post Office. The Growers Hub will be open six days a week starting in 2026.
5. A brew by day and a bevy by night: Popular Wagga Bar opens new shop offering coffee from morning to midnight
by Jarryd Rowley
The Birdy Bar crew have expanded their offerings. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
Only 18 months on from purchasing and remodelling The Birdy Bar at one end of Baylis Street, owners Chris Hawe and Chelsea Cleary have decided to take on a new challenge.
The team behind one of Wagga’s premier late-night destinations have decided to open their doors for the early morning hustle and bustle.
4. The termites have moved out and Dan and Deb have moved in: Morven Pub’s ambitious transformation begins
by Vanessa Hayden
It’s thumbs up from John and Dan (left), who called into the Round Hill Hotel in Morven on their weekend travels and enjoyed a cold beer poured by new publicans Dan Mumby and Deb Muller. Photos: Vanessa Hayden.
Morven’s Round Hill Hotel is undergoing a transformation and will morph into a grand country pub experience when its 12-stage renovation is complete.
It is now under the proud ownership of Daniel Mumby and Deborah Muller, who bought the run-down property in 2024 and declare they are not just going to restore it to its former glory but make it a pub that “anyone in the local area can be proud of”.
3. Wagga eatery revamp promises new flavours, more seating and authentic Italian food
by Shri Gayathirie Rajen
Owner of Pota Pasta, Gabriele Rota, is looking forward to his new venture. Photo: Shri Gayathirie Rajen.
Pota Pasta is expanding with a new spot on Lake Albert Road. Get ready for fresh flavours, Italian breakfasts, and more.
Pota Pasta’s Gabriele Rota will be serving authentic Italian flavours at a new location.
2. Eager diners rush in to take a ‘bite’ out of Albury’s new Vietnamese offering
by Jodie O’Sullivan
Long-time Albury business owners Jess and Tony Nguyen have opened a new family-run Vietnamese restaurant in Kiewa Street. Photo: Minerva Taylor.
The official opening of Albury’s new Vietnamese restaurant came with a rush hour reminiscent of the bustling Saigon streets from which its inspiration was born.
Long-time Albury business owners Jess and Tony Nguyen were run off their feet as they opened the doors of their family-run Saigon Bites eatery in Kiewa Street on 12 October with eager diners lining up to sample the authentic fare.
1. Teenage Griffith entrepreneur has roaring first month of trade after taking over Peeches Coffee Lounge
by Oliver Jacques
Ben Ellevsen is working seven days a week in his new business. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
Ben Ellevsen was 14 when he got his first job, washing dishes at Peeches Coffee Lounge. Just four years later, he’s the co-owner and boss of 12 staff, including his mum.
