Gus' Cafe was established by Austrian immigrant Augustin 'Gus' Petersilka in 1969. It later became the first outdoor pavement cafe in Canberra. It is one of the oldest and best known cafes in the city and one of the first European-style cafes in Australia, having both outdoor and indoor dining areas. For its time, it was very unique to watch people dine outdoors in Canberra.
There were 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. Petersilka battled the bureaucrats, and eventually won,
Gus' Cafe became a city icon and lasted for decades until temporary closure in 2012 due to uncleanliness and failure to keep some foods at the correct temperatures. Although it reopened, this was only for several years, for it was in 2016 when Gus' Cafe closed for good.
The ACT Heritage Council says Gus' Cafe is an example of one of Canberra's cultural heritage places, illustrating intangible heritage values. It is not the physical fabric of the building that represents its heritage value. It is the history of the place and the activity conducted there over many years that gives the Gus' Cafe site its strong historic cultural and social heritage significance for the local community.
Source: The Canberra Times.
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