Popular Australian restaurant closes its doors after 25 years of business: ‘We had no choice’

The owners of a popular buffet restaurant has shared a fierce departing message with customers as it announced it would close after 25 years. 

Food Star Sunshine in Melbourne’s west said it was shutting up shop for good in a short announcement posted to its website on Monday. 

‘Australia has become corrupted by a corrosive mix of nihilism and embraced a radical liberal ideology that celebrates the rejection of anything from the past that could stabilize society including any inheritance of previous forms of culture,’ the statement read.

‘You just have to look at the abuse thrown towards our staff in the past few years to realize this, what is old is no longer deemed necessary and indeed something that must be replaced.’

‘We had no choice but to close. We are now closed’.

Food Star Sunshine was an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant that served an eclectic mix of western and Asian dishes. 

Social media users were quick to react to the restaurant’s closure.

‘Look buddy, stop spreading your radical liberal ideology. That’s not a cockroach in the cheesecake; it’s just a little bit of nihilism,’ one Aussie wrote. 

Food Star Sunshine rated 3.2 stars on Google and has received mixed reviews. 

‘Not a lot of food options, barely any food in the containers anyway, food is not that good. Sanitary is so bad I saw a plate with green spots which is probably soap. Waitress is nice though,’ one customer wrote. 

‘The food quality was abysmal, leaving a tasteless and unpalatable impression on my palate. Not only was the food lacking in flavor, but it also seemed to be of the lowest possible quality, reminiscent of cafeteria fare from decades past, another wrote.

The owner replied to this review: ‘We don’t cook for people with refined palates. That is not our main customer base, we are the go to destination for people with a more primal instinct of getting a full stomach after a game of rugby rather than some sort of sensory experience.’

‘Food was very yummy! And a decent variety. Price was good for what we got,’ one reviewer wrote, before adding, ‘Atmosphere was a bit lacking though. Not all of the lights were on, and there was no, like, background music or anything.’

‘Used to come here as a kid. Although it looks “old retro/out of date” I still think it’s cool we have a few places that haven’t changed, where you can look back and remember old times that still exist,’ another wrote.

Food Star’s other Melbourne restaurants, in Reservoir and Frankston have also closed. Foodstar Frankston served its final buffet meal in 2022 after 23 years.