Dining venues celebrated at 2023 R&CA QLD/NT State Awards

Queensland and Northern Territory hospitality stars had their chance to shine on Monday, 14 August for the Restaurant and Catering Association’s State Awards, held at The Star Gold Coast.

OneMusic was once again a proud sponsor for the awards, who shine a spotlight on those small businesses who make up our northern states' acclaimed hospitality industry. We brought along local musician and friend of OneMusic, the ever-talented Andrea Kirwin to perform.

Andrea, along with OneMusic Dining representative Gary De La Mare, were honoured to present our OneMusic Excellence Award. The award, in its third year celebrates a dining venue who have elevated music to be their premier marketing draw card.

Andrea took time to speak about what music licensing means to her as a working musician. Something that is close to her heart:

"Music has the power to enhance any experience. By paying for a music licence, you not only create a better experience for your customers, you also enable artists and songwriters to continue to earn a living."

OneMusic's Gary De La Mare and musician Andrea Kirwin with Crunchy's Dessert Cafe's owner.

We were thrilled to announce that Crunchy’s Dessert Café took out the OneMusic Excellence Award for the second year in a row! Going from strength to strength, last year’s win inspired the Jimboomba cafe to look even further into their use of music:

Music is an extremely powerful tool. For 2023 we took this to the next level. We improved our music selection by creating more and more balanced playlists. We also tested several levels of decibels. What effect does this have on customer behaviour, the experience and how does it improve the spending and time people stay? All senses must be brought and stay in balance. “

 Our Runner Up,  The Charming Squire, a micro-brewery in Brisbane’s Southbank have enhanced their atmosphere with a live music approach:

“Music, particularly live music, contributes to the ambience of the business and enhances the customer experience. It helps sustain business as it is perceived as a value add i.e., you can dine anywhere, but at The Charming Squire you get a full experience with live music.”

We’d like to extend our warm congratulations to all of the winners and nominees at the Awards. Each business makes QLD the place to be!

Are you looking to include live music in your small business? Read our free live music guide.

Nominations for the OneMusic Excellence Award at the state Restaurant & Catering Awards are still open in NSW and SA!

SA –  Closing 28 August

NSW – Closing 11 September