The owner of an iconic coffee shop at a popular tourist attraction made a heartbreaking decision after a wild storm caused a power outage that fried her refrigerators and spoiled her stock.
Mell Penno has closed the Big Rocking Horse cafe in Gumeracha in the Adelaide Hills.
The cafe at this beloved tourist attraction suffered more than $12,000 in damage after 65 mph winds hit the area on Monday.
Ms Penno bought the business 14 months ago and has struggled to keep up with the mounting bills ever since.
She couldn’t afford the $46,000 insurance that would have protected her against storms and livestock losses.
“We’re estimating the (damaged) stock will be only $8,000… and we’ll probably add another $4,000 to $5,000 worth of refrigerators and freezers as well,” Penno said. He told 7News.
“We don’t make much money here… this has really broken me.”
Ms Penno spent the last day contacting disappointed families who had booked birthday parties at the cafe to inform them the events will not go ahead.
The Big Rocking Horse cafe in South Australia has been forced to close for good after a wild storm swept through the area, knocking out power for 40 hours.
Mell Penno was left with a $12,000 damage bill when a 105km/h speeding car caused a power cut at the cafe, which was not covered by stock loss or storm insurance.
The Big Rocking Horse mini golf and petting farm will remain open.
Ms Penno is trying to find new jobs for her staff and has said that despite the closure of her cafe he
“We have 16 employees working rotating shifts at this cafe and now I have to tell them today that they don’t have a job,” Ms. Penno said. He told The Advertiser.
‘Forget about me, I’m worried about all the young juniors I’ve trained here who are now out of work and don’t have that income… that affects me.’
She doesn’t want the community to raise funds to cover the lost costs of keeping the cafe open.
“We would rather you visit the animal park or play mini golf or donate directly to a non-profit charity,” he wrote online.
Ms. Penno was grateful for the offers, but said the money would be better spent elsewhere: “‘There are people here who are in a worse situation,’ he said.
He announced the cafe’s closure on Facebook and asked the Gumeracha community not to crowdfund its losses as the money could be used elsewhere at the tourist attraction.
Since buying the business with her husband last July, the couple has spent thousands of dollars of their own money on improving the cafe and park.
Instead of getting insurance, Ms. Penno spent $26,000 on Improve facilities and make the park more accessible for disabled visitors.
He also purchased 12 refrigerators and six freezers for the cafeteria, which were fried by a power surge during the storm.
The cafeteria was without power for 40 hours. During that time, all the products in the refrigerators thawed or melted, including a new ice cream freezer we had bought last week.
Its closure is a great loss for the state and the region with very few more cafes in the small municipality of 721 people.
Opened in the 1980s, the 18-metre, 25-tonne ship attracts thousands of tourists. Big Rocking Horse every year.
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