Bunbury has been home to many great places to eat over the years, but none are held in such high esteem as Pat’s Snack Bar.

For one week only, Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre will host a pop-up burger shop – a faithful homage to Pat’s Snack Bar, guided by former owners Jim and Doreen Roney.

Complete with a re-created fire pit, the van will serve crumpets and burgers made to the original Pat’s recipes, and forms part of the upcoming production This is where….
The production takes audiences on a guided tour of Bunbury, where local stories are brought to life in the very places they happened.

This is where… is the culmination of five years of research and development. Creator Siobhan Maiden interviewed over 100 Bunbury locals for the project, and she said 90 per cent of them mentioned Pat’s Snack Bar as a formative social space in their lives.

“I really enjoy fiction, but there are so many incredible true stories surrounding us, that there is hardly a need to invent characters or scenarios. I wanted to highlight the people and places that shape us, not the official documented or newsworthy histories of Bunbury. Everyday interactions with people just doing their job might not seem important or momentous, but it is often these seemingly insignificant moments that connect us, and make us feel like we belong, like we are home.”

“I admire the unacknowledged labour of people like Doreen. The kind of work that connects strangers, reduces loneliness, keeps people alive, and – occasionally – even increases the birth rate.”

Pat’s Snack Bar first opened in 1956 under the ownership of Peter and Pat Andrews. Jim and Doreen Roney took ownership of the business in 1978 and ran it until the last burger was served in 1997.

In that time, Pat’s joined Bunbury’s many night clubs and pubs as a landmark of the recently minted City’s nightlife. Serving as the launchpad for a night out, a late-night pit stop for shift workers, and a shining beacon for anyone looking for something to help stave off a hangover after a night of clubbing.

Doreen Roney said the fire pit was a social hub that brought locals together and sometimes drove them apart.

“Because they were sitting round the fire, they met other people. They met their partner, they had a fight with someone, they heard their gossip.”

While Doreen served the hungry masses of Bunbury, Jim Roney was in the back cooking the iconic burgers and crumpets. He said Pat’s was a place people would go whether they needed a feed, or just a sympathetic ear.

“It was a place for some people to come with troubles. We were pretty good listeners to them.” Jim said.

“They’d stand there until everyone disappeared, and you’d lean over and talk to them. They’d have problems. [Doreen] is as good a listener as she is talker.”

Proper homage could not be paid to Pat’s Snack Bar without the fire pit, so a scale version has been re-created thanks to local fabricator Brian Fisher, designer Fred Glen, and early supporter of the production Tom Dillon.

They used not only their own memories of the original fire pit, but many historical photographs supplied by the Roney’s to design and build the replica from scratch.

Mr Dillon said it was a labour of love.

“It was the must-go place Friday and Saturday nights. And Sunday if we had any money left after the footy.”

“I’ve been involved in many projects, and you just have to know who the right people are. Fortunately, Brian and Fred are from my era, and they knew full well about Pat’s.”

BREC’s Pat’s Snack Bar will be popping up at the front of the Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre at 2 Blair St. It will be open to the public from 4:15pm to 10:30pm every day during the run of This is where…

This is where… will be performed from April 13 – 18 with afternoon and evening shows daily. Walking shoes will be essential as audiences are guided on a walking theatre experience through the Bunbury CBD. Tickets and session times are available online or through the BREC box office.

 

Download the full media release