One of my work friends has been raving about this place all year - she goes there regularly and always comes to work to fill us all in on what she has eaten. One by one everyone else at work has gone, on her recommendation, and come back equally delighted with the food provided. I am sad to say, even though I love mexican, that I was one of the very last to actually make it there. This past weekend however, I managed to get there with my partner and am really happy I finally made the effort.
The food is great, there are heaps and heaps of options and large servings, I couldn't finish my meal and for once my husband couldn't finish it either (he got through his but couldn't devour the rest of mine).
Generally good service, people happy to get you things if you ask and friendly and smiling staff.

This is somewhere that I definitely would not have stepped foot in if it weren't on the invitation of a friend of mine who insisted we have her birthday celebration there.
I don't really know why I wasn't a fan, it just seemed to pretentious to me, so avoided it whenever I was in the area.
I am happy to say, I was wrong, this place is kinda cool.
It has a nice atmosphere and a great look. Comfortable kind of place to be.
They also have absolutely devine food, the biggest plus of all. I think the menu was quite broad with options for most people, everyone at our table was really happy with their food and there was lots of sharing and "try this" going on around the group.
If you like good food it is a worthwhile place to check out.

If you really like books, the physical kind not the impersonal sort of your iPad, this is a great shop.
It has a really lovely vibe, chilled out and friendly and welcoming, with a great variety of books and really helpful staff who are happy to make recommendations (unlike larger chain bookshops where the staff look at you blankly when you ask a question, and you always think in their head they are saying "I don't read, what are you thinking, crazy lady?" The wonderful staff in Mary Ryan's actually give them impression that they have done more than look at the pretty covers of the books in their life.
Even the bargain hunter in me that loves to find the cheapest place for any item I buy doesn't mind paying a touch extra when I am in an actually decent store that helps out. This is one of those places. Enjoy!!

First and foremost, I really like this bookshop. It has a good variety of things, a nice layout and friendly, helpful staff who are prepared to order in things if you need them. Definitely a big plus to me, as someone who loves books.
Out front they have a nice deck with tables etc that you can sit at and order from their menu. Not a hugely comprehensive menu, but generally nice food and nice staff. They provide assistance when signalled, but don't bug you - this is a good thing I think, because part of their whole vibe is that you can buy a novel and then sit on the deck with a coffee and read it for a long as you like without getting death stares from the staff.

I don't know if this counts as a small business, exactly, but they don't have a stack of stores and until I stumbled across them this weekend I had never heard of them. Why does this matter? Because they fixed one of the biggest issues of my existence in one visit. Therefore, I feel everyone needs to know about them.
I know there are heaps of swimwear stores out there so you may be thinking "what's the big deal", and fair enough. The big deal is, this is not just a run of the mill swimwear store. They have the exceptional benefit of stocking bikini tops by not only size (eg 12) but also cup size (eg D-DD).
I have avoided swimwear shopping and by extension swimming in public for YEARS because of the difficulty of finding tops to fit E cup into. Fine maybe if you ar size 18, but when you are size 10-12 it just will never work.
I ran out of avoiding however when we booked our honeymoon for this Christmas holiday - a cruise to Vanautu. Bikini kinda necessary. I have exercised myself to a flat stomach but still had to work a solution to the clothing issue.
Bikini Island at Harbour Town is the factory outlet for the company, which means cheaper (yay) and they have a great range that actually look like swimwear, not bras, which is fabulous.
I got 3 bikini tops for under $90, which is really quite reasonable I think, even by comparison to stores like Target, whose swimwear I have no hope of fitting.
Beyond the awesomeness of the product (and yes, they have normal size stuff too, career for everyone) the staff are fabulous. Cheerful and very happy to help. Qualities that are hard to find in many stores these days.
Ok, that's my spiel. Maybe not a small business, again, but definitely one that I believe fills a market gap well. Happy shopping!

I have been subscribing to the free monthly newsletter from Simple Savings for about 4 years, since I bought my first property and really love it. Yes, the information can be found in other places, all information can be, but the beauty of it is that it is centralized, well set and and engagingly delivered.
Each month they have a different challenge (double batch cooking, no screen time, etc) and hints of how to achieve it. They cover recipes and gardening stuff too.
I don't love everything they say, but enough that inkeep reading it and checking in with the website for more information.
Last year I went a step further and actually paid for membership to their "vault" which has even more tips, hints and blogs from various people with suggestions and stuff. It is normally $47 or so to subscribe, but they had a Christmas special and it was about $21 so I went for it. They have a similar discount this Christmas too, if you are keen, cheap till Dec 10.
For me, this discounted price really meant that I got serious worth out of it. For an extra $20 or something I got a copy of their book, so ended up with the book and membership and postage of the book for less than normal membership.
That month my partner and I signed up for a mortgage for our family home and the reading that I did, and my decision to stick with the suggestions for a while firstly paid the cost in about 2 weeks, and secondly allowed us to save a bunch of money, so we can now a year later afford the very expensive kitchen renovation we are in the middle of as I type.
If you want to learn about saving, or need the tips to get you across the line in achieving some kind of financial goal, this is definitely a website to check out. And I recommend it not only her but to everyone I know - my mum even paid for membership just this week based on my recommendation!

This is a bulk billing medical centre in Springwood.
They are open 6 days and take appointments and walk ins.
It is a good place to go if you need a script refilled or a medical certificate for a day off work, because they bulk bill and are rarely too busy to fit you in. I hate having to pay for appointments and sit and wait for 30 minutes when all I need is a pill repeat script, it drives me mental, so this place is pretty handy for that kind of thing.
The staff at the desk, and the doctor, are polite and generally helpful.
That said, I would not really go here if you need genuine help.
I have a injury that I have been getting physio help with for months and while it was getting better the progress was slow. My physio asked me to get a scan done and when I couldn't get an appointment with my normal doctor, I thought I would try this place. Not my finest decision. When I explained to the doctor what I needed, he grunted at me, told me a scan would be a waste of time and money, my physio didn't know what he was doing and sent me off with a referral to a new physio. What??? Not really all that helpful in the scheme of things. In hindsight, pretty funny though.

This is a new restaurant that has opened as part of the Springwood Hotel, moving into the space that was Lone Star Restaurant.
Went here by accident, had booked for Springwood Hotel ages ago for a function dinner and they didn't tell us that the old dining place was gone, we discovered that Feast was the only option after we had already all arrived.
It is relatively nice inside, but really quite expensive. They are an all you can eat buffet kind of place, and adults are $28.50. Not that much, I guess, but but food options are somewhat short of inspiring. It includes dessert bar and drinks, but still more than I am really ok paying for a basic buffet.
That said - if you have lots of young kids or are a senior, definitely check it out.
The buffet is free for under 4yo, about $10 for 4-12 and only $12.50 for those with senior card. So, if you have a senior card and a few grandkids under 12, this would be a super cheap dinner outing that would likely provide options for even picky eaters, which would be nice.

Approximate cost: $28.50

Quite disappointing fish and chips.
I am still on the hunt for lovely fish and chips close by, keep being let down by everywhere we try, and end up heading north side to our favourite shop there.
I have only been once, not sure I am willing to give them another go, but perhaps they were having an off day.
The service was very slow, we waited for absolutely ages and they we not busy, there were only 2 customers besides us and we got a simple package of salad with fish and chips. I don't understand how that takes 30 minutes to prepare, but for whatever reason it did. Adding to the wait was the fact that they didn't bother calling out our number so we didn't even know our food was actually ready. We were sitting at a table in the shop, they gave us a ticket and somehow didn't bother saying to us "your order is ready", they just left it in the hotbox until I finally got sick of waiting and asked if it was ours. The lady was quite rude and just shoved it at me.
The food was ok, nothing earth shattering, and I think the overall service let it down even further.
It was not cheap enough to be ok that the service was so poor.

Super cute gift shop in Springwood.
It isn't cheap, by any means, but it has been there for absolutely ages, which I see as a good sign that the business is surviving and quality.
They have some lovely house decorative type things as well as various jewellery items. I have a few friends who are difficult to buy for at times cause they have everything, and the means to purchase whatever they want, so I love this sort of store be causes it allows me to get somewhat unique presents that may not have overly brilliant function, but a pretty and nice to have.
A beautiful place to wander around after a lunch at Coffee Club.