Citrus and Vine forced to close in Phillip Island due to the COVID pandemic
A Phillip Island family forced to shut the doors to its restaurant because of COVID, has suffered another devastating blow.
Bass Coast News
Don't miss out on the headlines from Bass Coast News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A Phillip Island restaurant forced to close because of the pandemic has suffered another devastating blow on their last weekend of trade.
Citrus and Vine owner Sarah Pedersen told The Bass Coast News she was “infuriated” after group of 14 people cancelled their dinner reservation, half an hour before their booking on Saturday, March 13.
Mrs Pedersen said the group planning on celebrating a 40th birthday had requested a special cocktail that needed certain ingredients.
“We set the table up with decorations and even bought particular food to meet their needs,” she said.
“So it was so disappointing when they cancelled at the last minute.”
Mrs Pedersen said the restaurant didn’t take a deposit as they put “trust” in the community.
She said the restaurant lost $500 from the loss of the table and had turned away other customers in order to accommodate for the group.
Mrs Pedersen said it was just another “kick in the guts” after they made the “horrible” call to close the restaurant on March 20 due to the financial pressures from the pandemic.
“We can’t risk going through winter with no tourism,” she said.
“We can’t afford to get into more debt than what we already have with COVID-19.”
Mrs Pedersen said the Valentine’s Day lockdown “secured” their fate.
“It was difficult to continually pay a lease with no dine ins,” she said.
The Phillip Island mum, who runs the business with her parents, said the restaurant closure had impacted everyone in her family.
“Mum’s had to lease out her house for 12 months,” she said
“And dad can’t retire now until another six years.”
Mrs Pedersen has returned to her job as a library teacher at Newhaven College.
She said her four daughters have been “anxious” about the closure.
“We have owned Citrus and Vine for three years,” she said.
“And they have always dreamt about working at the business in the future.”
Mrs Pedersen is urging customers to follow through with bookings.
“Please don't do this to small businesses,” she said.
“They rely on bookings so much.”
Passengers evacuated after truck and train collide in state’s east
A truck and a train — with about 100 passengers on board who had to evacuate — have collided in the state’s east, leaving people having to catch buses as an alternative.
Batters dominate day two of Melbourne Country Week
Two centuries headlined the second day of country week as teams booked their spots in the semi-finals. Check out the best performers of the second day here.