Others may disagree and that's OK - they're entitled to their wrong opinion.

But there's no arguing that Bush's in Wollongong was a pioneer - fresh meat on one side of the store and a powerful grill on the other, enabling meat lovers to select a steak then sit down while it was cooked to order, or choose from the range of burgers.

Wollongong was the first time Bush's had tried this concept, and the company chose a city that certainly loves its beef sandwiches.

But while the CBD is flush with burger outlets - witness the demise of Hello Harry and Another Burger Joint as symptoms of burger overload, that's not what broke this camel's back.

Read more: When are too many burgers just too many?

Bush's kitchen enjoyed strong trade at lunchtime, with a large flock of regulars, but the actual butchery and fresh meat sales weren't keeping up, Bush's sales and marketing manager David Barnes said.

Factor in increases in costs, and the store was closed last week.

"It's a business decision," he said.

"The industry's probably not at its most profitable at the moment - with the cost of products [meat] pretty much tripling over the past five years.

"Rents and wages go up every year [and] there wasn't as much fresh meat sales as we'd like.

"The burger part of it did very well; we're very happy with the concept, happy with how it went.

"It was very busy during the lunch period, but that's only two hours, and there wasn't enough trade either side of that to support it."

It's understood Bush's was unable to come to terms with landlord Wollongong Central over rent. Mr Barnes said the landlord had been "quite amenable" and good to deal with, but they were unable to strike a suitable arrangement and the store was shuttered.

He said the staff were able to be redeployed to other Bush's stores.