Whiporie General Store owners Steve and Sharon Ballard close up shop

A business venture that started as a dream soon turned into a nightmare that has forced a family to close up shop and walk away.

Sara O'Connor from the Whiporie General Store says the recent coronavirus pandemic has crippled the business. Picture: Jenna Thompson

When the Ballard family bought the Whiporie General Store in 2017 it was a dream come true. But just two years later, that dream turned into a nightmare.

An endless parade of disasters, from bushfires, floods, drought and now a pandemic, have forced the family to close the business and walk away.

Sara O’Connor said it was a heartbreaking decision for her parents Steve and Sharon.

“This wasn’t easy for them,” she said.

“They love this place and it’s been a dream of mum’s to own a shop.

“It took months of discussion and lots of arguments on how we’re going to keep going before the decision was finally made.”

Whiporie General Store owner Sharon Ballard (left) with daughter Sara O'Connor and her children Rubi-Lee, Mikaylah-Lee, Rylee and Tylee.

Ms O’Connor said that while the shop had been struggling for some time, the latest coronavirus restrictions and lack of government support were the final blow.

“This business survives off the Queensland border travellers but with no traffic passing by, it crippled the business,” she said.

She said there was a period of about three weeks when business started to pick up.

“We finally thought we were breaking out of it,” she said.

“Mum and dad thought that they could build it back up to the way we worked so hard to get it to.”

But then the Queensland border shut again.

“NSW locked everyone out and it just finished them,” she said.

“Mum and dad applied for all these grants and got nowhere because small businesses just fall through the cracks.”

She said it was the same situation when the fires came through.

“We’ve been trying to do the best we can but there’s not much else we can do,” she said.

“The stress of it for mum and dad is just way too much.”

Sara O'Connor said it was a difficult decision to close the Whiporie General Store. Picture: Jenna Thompson

On Saturday, the Whiporie General Store will close its doors for the last time.

“We’ve had amazing support from the locals; they understand this decision wasn’t easy to make,” she said.

“It’s just sad that no one gets a proper goodbye because of lockdown restrictions, it’s just shut the doors and that’s it.”

We would like to thank everyone for the support we have received, but unfortunately we will have to close the shop down....

Posted by Whiporie General Store on Sunday, August 29, 2021

Ms O’Connor said her parents would spend the next few months trying to sell the property, which included a house at the back, before relocating from Whiporie to make a fresh start.

“This dream was our dream from the start,” she said.

“We all walked in together, now we’re walking out together and will start a new adventure together.

“Mum and dad are my family’s rock.”