When a Melbourne city water main burst last year and flooded Caterina Borsato’s beloved Italian restaurant, she thought that it might be the end. Even her husband gently suggested that after 30 years, maybe it was time?

Twelve months later, Caterina’s Cucina e Bar on Queen Street is back. But it’s not just for the love of her restaurant: 65-year-old Borsato says she can’t afford to retire, in no small part due to the growing and crippling taxes of the Victorian state government, the prolonged lockdowns of the pandemic, and rising labour and supply costs.