Challenges & change
SUE WITH HER DAUGHTERS TARA AND JULIA
DEVONSHIRE TEA FEATURING LIGHT HOUSE-MADE SCONES
Jindivick’s Jindi Caf situated in the heart of Gippsland dairy country, is known for its old- fashioned food and charm. The small business however, has faced various challenges over many months including Covid lockdowns, the threat of closure, moving and being effected by local flooding, yet it has survived and thrived.
Then on the Monday we had to lockdown and we survived it by providing for the needs of the community and selling takeaway food and drinks. Sadly, I had to cut back on staff but Julia was still here and was able to come back to work and Tara started a little while after she lost her job (due to Covid) in Melbourne.”
Proprietors, Sue Goodwin and her husband Bryan initially purchased the café/restaurant business in 2013 while operating the town’s general store alongside it. Unfortunately the store struggled to make money and eventually had to close. To compensate, the couple opened the café seven days a week and provided bottled gas, postal services, papers, milk, bread, drinks and lollies for the Jindivick community.
Sue said not long afterwards their landlords decided to sell the property. “The new owners wanted to convert the building back into a house, so we had to find another home and in a small country town like Jindivick there weren’t really any options.” Fortunately, directors of Atticus Health, who had purchased the Old Jacks Restaurant, The Barn and the old nursery for their business, agreed to let them lease The Barn. “We would have had to permanently close the doors otherwise so we were lucky. The doctors, and I think many people since Covid understand how important it is in small towns like this to have a community base.”
The venture was, and still is very much a family affair with Sue at the helm, which creates an atmosphere that is warm, casual, friendly and energetic. The couple have four adult children who have all worked in the café at different times. Julia, their youngest, continued to work full-time while the others moved on to other careers. The business thrived for several years until it faced the first Victorian lock down. “Two days before it, our eldest daughter was married in a paddock because, due to Covid, we couldn’t use the community hall,” Sue said. ”Although we had to quickly compromise on many things, it was still a nice wedding.
92
gippsland lifestyle spring ����
She said they moved the business to the new premises during the second Covid lockdown. “We stopped serving and closed the doors of the old café at 2 o’clock on Sunday, August 31st. Then local farmers, residents, family and friends brought up tractors with buckets and forks, and utes and trailers to help us move. We managed to get everything we needed into the new premises by 5.30 and then it poured with rain.
