The incident, which occurred just before 8pm yesterday, triggered a significant police response, including the bomb squad, and led to terrifying customers being evacuated.
A court today heard the accused man, 44-year-old Mark Robert Williams, allegedly said “I’m going to bomb this place. I’m going to bomb everyone in here”.
Within minutes, the restaurant car park was filled with police. CCTV footage showed two officers entering the building and arresting a man who raised his hands.
“They just said they had a bomb threat and had to evacuate,” witness Tony Nastasi said.
“It’s pretty scary stuff.”
The bomb response unit examined a backpack left inside the restaurant, with specialised technicians determining there were no explosives inside.
Williams has been charged with intentionally creating a false belief that life was endangered, and was refused bail.