A BELOVED Glossop café that has been serving Riverlanders and tourists for over a decade will close its doors later this month.
Bella Lavender Estate, run by husband and wife Mario and Lucy Centofanti and their son David, will have its final day of trade on Sunday, June 28, with Mario and Lucy retiring and David stepping away to spend time with his children.
Lucy said she and Mario had started to think about retirement last year and felt now was the right time to close the café.
“We thought while we are in good health, this is the time to step back,” she said.
“We asked David if he wanted to take over, and at that point he was a bit unsure.
“His wife has now recently got another job that requires her to be in Adelaide lots, and they also have young children.
“So that’s when we realised we had to close.”
Mario and Lucy opened the business in December 2008 after being inspired by a lavender farm they visited in Moonta.
Mario said he was confident the café would work.
“I didn’t think it was a risk; Lucy and the kids did but I thought it would work,” he said.
“At the time we were in drought so everyone was stressed, so I thought if we did something like this it would get people out of their houses and away from their stresses.
“It worked from pretty much the first day.”
When their son, David, returned to the Riverland after serving in the Navy, Mr Centofanti asked him to start making wood-fire pizzas at Bella Lavender.
“We were only opening four days a week, but as soon as David came in we had to open six days a week because the demand was so great,” Mario said.
“Then about five years ago we decided to put in the playground, and we’ve had the mini golf for about seven years, and those have really attracted a lot more families to come out.
“We try to make the customers feel welcome like we would make our own family feel welcome.”
David said his whole family had played a role in making the café a success.
“The place was built by my brothers, and we’ve got aunties and cousins and grandsons who have worked here,” he said.
“We have family come in all the time for cheap lunches as well, so the daily contact with family will be lost which will be very sad.”
Lucy said one of her favourite parts of running the restaurant was interacting with customers, with some families even holding wakes at the venue.
“To think that someone wants to come in an have a wake for their parents because they used to come here – that was really special,” she said.
David said phones at the café had been ringing non-stop since the closure was announced, with the family receiving great support from customers.
“We just wanted to say thank you to all our customers, and thank you to the whole Riverland community for supporting us,” he said.
“Without the locals we wouldn’t have lasted two minutes.”
Lucy said Bella Lavender had received “amazing support” from the local community, including the visitor centres and other tourism operators.
“Everyone in the whole Riverland, from Waikerie to Loxton to Renmark and everything in between has been so good to us,” she said.
Bella Lavender will continue to sell lavender products online, while the café will continue to open for functions only.