The retirement of Chilli Joe on Friday night almost broke the internet. Not that we needed Facebook to tell us that this Campbelltown culinary legend is extremely popular around these parts.
But it was nice to see the mighty response to social media posts, including one by the South West Voice that attracted more than 15,000 views and over 600 engagements by Saturday lunch time.
The wording of the response varied but the message was the same: “We will miss you, Joe,’’ was the theme of the responses to our post and those of others, including local MP Greg Warren, another big fan of Joe’s Thai food at Campbeltown Bowling Club.
The other signs of Joe’s popularity were the large number of reservations for lunch and dinner once word got around that “Chilli’’ was hanging up his apron.
“It’s been incredible,’’ he said during a chat just after lunch on Friday.
“So many people have booked to come here for one last time and to say bye to us,’’ he said.
One of them was Patrick Duffy, principal of Duffy Law Group and another Chilli Joe devotee.
“We really love Joe and his family and the hospitality they have provided through their Thai cuisine over the years,’’ Mr Duffy told the Voice on Friday.
“I had a group for lunch there today to say goodbye to Joe and the family, and another group from Duffy Law Group will be there tonight,’’ Mr Duffy said.
Chilli Joe’s real name is Mana Wanasawage and he took his time coming to Campbelltown after arriving in Australia.
He opened his first restaurant in 1984 in Coogee and called it Thai Castle.
In 1988 he moved to Brisbane and opened a restaurant near the CBD called Renu Thai.
Ten years later, Joe returned to Sydney and came out here in Campbelltown where he opened Thai Chilli in Patrick Street, opposite the railway line.
This was the venture that really made him a star, as locals flocked to the tiny eatery – which didn’t take long to start winning foodie awards.
It also gave him his nickname, Chilli Joe, and a home among friends who loved his personality as much as his crispy prawns, fish cakes and beef massaman.
“When a dance studio opened above our premises the noise during dinner was quite unbearable, and we just couldn’t operate anymore,’’ says Joe.
“I was approached by Wests leagues club in Leumeah to open a Thai Restaurant in the extensions the club had built at the time,’’ he says.
So in 2008 he opened Chilli Chilli Bamboo at Wests leagues club, and his fans followed him there as well.
“The restaurant operated verry successfully,’’ says Joe now.
“Unfortunately, I had to give it away due to a complication after my hernia operation in late 2011.’’
But the natives didn’t need to get restless for long: just a few months later Chilli Joe was back with a new restaurant in Campbelltown Bowling club called Chilli Joe Thai Cuisine.
He’s been thinking of retirement for a while, especially for the sake of his wife Nam, who has been doing most of the cooking with hardly a break.
“It’s also very hard to find hospitality staff these days, so I could not even get Nam some help when she needed a break, so we decided the time was right to say goodbye,’’ he says.
“I’d like to thank everybody who enjoyed our food and hospitality over the past 26 years in Campbelltown, and also for their kind words on social media.’’
No, thank you, Chilli Joe, you’ve been great.
