“Billabong”, means “Watering Hole”. With this in mind, two Winnipegers and an Australian set about creating Winnipeg’s first authentic Australian restaurant and lounge.

In 1997 Erin Degen graduated high school and was soon on plane to Europe. It was in Edinburgh, Scotland that she met her future husband, an Australian named Peter Keating. After years of commuting back and forth between Canada and Australia Erin and Peter were married.

After settling in Winnipeg the couple teamed up with Erin’s brother Owen whose extensive bar experience seemed to compliment Peter’s restaurant background and Erin’s business training. In 2004 they opened “The Billabong”, a fifty seat restaurant and lounge in Osborne village.

Four years later it was apparent that The Billabong had outgrown it’s space, and with luck on their side they had the opportunity to expand into the space next door. After six years The Billabong has become a local “watering hole” to many and surely will be for years to come.