A LOCAL café owner – who was only trading for several weeks before COVID-19 forced business closures – says relaxed dining restrictions have added “vibrancy and life” back to the Riverland.
Renmark’s Karlie Rice launched her business Apple Bee Health Bar in Renmark earlier this year, but after a busy start and “fantastic” support from locals quickly found herself wondering how she would survive the pandemic.
“We had four weeks of trade prior to it all happening so it’s been a pretty tricky few weeks trying to get through it,” she said.
“I had to work out how we would stay afloat for when we could reopen again.
“I think we’re really lucky with our business model we were able to do a number of different things, rather than just the café, otherwise we would have been in big trouble.
“We have our supplement side and local produce, so we were also able to help other businesses too.”
Mrs Rice said she was overwhelmed with not only the patronage when she was open but since having to acclimatise to the restrictions.
“We’ve had really great support,” she said.
“I get stopped down the street, with people saying they’ve been thinking of us and wanting to support us.
“People will come in and insist on paying us extra for a coffee.
“Even in that first four weeks of trade we had crazy support. We feel so lucky.”
Mrs Rice said the option for locals to ‘dine out’ and have a coffee had led to a positive vibe around the town.
“People have said they couldn’t wait until they could go out and have a coffee,” she said.
“People seem happier and brighter. And it’s nice to have some vibrancy and life.”