It’s every second post on Facebook… “Let’s all support our local small business” “How about instead of always visiting McDonald’s and Woolworths we support the local mum and pop shops.” We’re talking about it supportng local businesses and promoting it, but are we actually doing it?
While there’s people lining up out the door of the international restaurant franchise down the road, the locally owned cafe is a ghost town. After the announcement of another snap lockdown, these small operators had to once again pivot their business model to a purely takeaway operation. What about businesses that rely on event catering? The event industry has been decimated and with it the businesses that rely on it.
Blackouts treat section is incredible
Logan’s Blackout Coffee and Catering was a thriving local cafe in a pre-covid world with a steady cafe trade backed by a booming catering business. This little cafe tucked in an industrial estate in Crestmead was a meeting point for locals and their special events attract people from across South East Queensland, however, all that has disappeared recently. I caught up with the owner of Blackout to see how this recent lockdown and the uncertainty around it had affected the business.
A clearly distressed Sarah Coad, owner of Black Out Coffee and Catering told me that she was having to use her own savings to pay their 8 staff and was unsure of how she was going to continue to feed her family.
One of the big things, we as the general public don’t think about, is the food wastage that happens when these snap lockdowns happen, especially with businesses like Blackout Coffee and Catering that do wedding and event catering.
“This lockdown has seen 3 weddings cancelled and over $8,000 in food wasted from Saturday alone,” Sarah said.
“I have made the same wedding cake, for the same people, 3 times… and they still haven’t been able to get married.”
The mental pressure faced by these business owners during the pandemic, coupled with the uncertainty of when this lockdown is meant to end, doesn’t shed much light at the end of the tunnel for local businesses, it just creates more questions.
For Sarah, this coming week was meant to be a joyous occasion with the opening of their second location, on-campus at Griffith University’s Meadowbrook site. But with no clarity on the state of restrictions, Tuesday’s grand opening will pass with very little celebration, if any at all.
“We are trying to open our new shop at Griffith uni this coming Tuesday with the fear of lockdown pending. It leaves us in a really bad mental state.”
Can you blame her?
Blackout Cafe Owner Sarah Coad with Donation cheque for Empower Assist Dogs
She had a thriving business, one that not only serviced their customers but provided support for the local community. Sarah and her team support the Empower Assistance Dogs charity, which Blackout Cafe and Catering has helped raise thousands of dollars for. Sarah is not asking for a handout, what she wants is quite simple.
“Just let us work. We want to work. But the government is restricting us from doing so”
So tomorrow morning when you wake up and want a coffee or some breakfast, do more than think about supporting local businesses, do it. Share your money around.
Go visit your local cafe, the one where the person standing behind the counter is most likely the same person paying the bills.
When you open up your food delivery app, order something from the restaurant that really needs your support right now.
Let’s keep saying “support small local business”… and then go out and actually do it.
For more about Blackout Cafe and Catering, read our review about breakfast spots in Logan here.
