Stirling Variety Meats reopens a year after devastating blaze

A popular Hills butcher’s shop has reopened at a new site, a year after a fire tore through its old home.

A year after a devastating blaze forced the closure of Stirling Variety Meats, the popular butcher’s shop is back in business.

The store, which found a new home in Mt Barker, reopened its doors to eager customers on Thursday.

Giselle Pfitzner, who owns the business with her husband Chris, said the response from the community has been “massive”.

“The whole opening for our shop has been so anticipated in the community, it’s been amazing,” she said.

“And we’ve had so many Stirling customers today. It’s been amazing to have them come over (to Mt Barker).”

Owners of Stirling Variety Meats Chris and Giselle Pfitzner outside their store in Stirling Village shopping centre before it was completely destroyed yesterday. Photo: Instagram

The butcher’s was among a number of shops that were forced to close or move after a fire swept through the shopping centre last October, causing more than $25 million damage.

Two teenage boys have since been charged with arson and are expected to go to trial later this year.

Ms Pfitzner said she and her husband went through many emotions in the aftermath but had to quickly decide if they wanted to continue the business.

“Because of our (insurance) policy, if we were going to keep going, we had to do it as soon as possible,” she said.

Rebuilding their business hasn’t been easy.

While they had insurance, it didn’t cover the cost of moving and opening a new store, forcing the couple to take out savings as well as a loan.

Then, there were the planning challenges.

“It wasn’t just a matter of finding a shop and moving in,” Ms Pfitzner.

“The shop that we had found was just a shell, so we had to do ceiling plans, floor plans.”

Stirling Variety Meats is reopening at a new site in Mt Barker, a year after a blaze forced them to close their Stirling shop.

Speaking to The Advertiser after their first day of trading in the new store, Ms Pfitzner said the community made them feel “loved”.

Making the occasion even more special were the staff, who were all able to come over to the new store a year after the closure of the Stirling site.

“We literally started our first day with all staff that know what they’re doing and have been with us for years,” Ms Pfitzner said, adding that their insurance policy allowed them to continue paying staff wages during the closure.