When Makadde Male and her cake-making mother decided to set up a cafe in Nunn St last November they could have never predicted the obstacles they would be forced to overcome.
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But overcome them they have, and despite being forced to adapt to stage 3 restrictions for the second time in a few months, the business is going from strength to strength.
Makadde said that even though things had been tough they had managed to stay profitable - and had even expanded into the shop next door.
“We honestly didn't really know what was going to happen with the first time the restrictions were introduced,” Makadde said.
“Like everyone else we've just been talking it day by day, we're just trying to deal with whatever comes our way.”
Makadde has a somewhat relaxed view of how the upcoming weeks will be, saying they plan to still be in business once things are back to normal and the restrictions are simply something they need to work through.
“Considering we've been thru it all before we know what needs to be done,” she said.
“We're going to have to wait and see what it will be like this time, but because of the measures we've already put in place we should be okay.
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“We have a text-to-order system, which people have continued to use even once we reopened to customers dining in, and it has been really efficient.
“And now we've got a bigger shop thanks to the expansion, which really helps with social distancing.
“Honestly, reintroducing stage 3 is not something wanted, but isn't that shocking.
“And it's honestly not so bad for us because we're such a small shop, we can adapt to take-away.
“I really feel bad for businesses that can't open and ones that are struggling, it's awful for them.
“But for us, we will just go with the flow, see what happens and try to respect the rules as best as possible.”
One piece of good news is that the cafe will be able to keep staff on this time - a luxury they did not have last time.
“When we originally went to stage 3 we had to put our staff off, which was awful,” Makadde said.
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“But this time, because we're a bit bigger and will hopefully be a little bit busier, we'll be able to keep a couple of staff on for a few hours here and there.
“Which will be helpful for them and us.
“We are likely to go back to reduced hours, like we did last time.
“But we're just seeing how this week goes first before making a decision.
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“When announcements come out and new restrictions are put in place people tend to back off a little bit, and stay home a bit more.
“Then they start to adapt to it, especially now with everyone wearing masks.
“Hopefully people will adapt to that then they will start to go out more and go to places like cafes.”
On the subject of masks, we spoke to Makadde on Monday, the day masks became compulsary in regional Victoria.
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“This is my first day wearing one and its not too bad actually,” she said.
“I just think it is what it is, and if it can help then that's great.
“It's really not that bad to wear a mask.
“It's not the end of the world, but if we're not all wearing them it might be.”
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