Fire relief campaign that saved family from bankruptcy

A small business owner from a fire-ravaged tourist town in Victoria has revealed how a Facebook post about a bottle of sauce changed everything.

Restaurant owners Kevin and Susan Plath were facing bankruptcy when a Facebook post by bushfire relief campaign Empty Esky changed their lives.

The couple run The Chicken Shop in the tourist town of Bright in Victoria’s alpine region, where police and the ADF doorknocked last week after an evacuation warning was issued due to ongoing fires near Mount Hotham.

Kevin and Susan had just reopened their restaurant after the Christmas break when they — along with their four-year-old daughter and 35,000 tourists and residents — were evacuated.

“This time a week ago, we had been evacuated to an army barracks and we were wondering what we were going to do with our lives and how we could put food on the table and pay our bills,” Susan told news.com.au on Thursday.

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The town’s tour operators and business owners are bracing for tough times ahead. The Alpine Shire estimated the fires could cost the region $90 million in lost revenue for the tourism and agriculture sectors.

Mayor Peter Roper said the shire “would lose businesses” as a result, calling it a “disaster” for the area.

“As a restaurant that had only been open several months — and having gone through the winter months of very quiet trade and dipping into the last of our savings to keep the restaurant going — we were heavily reliant on the Christmas holidays to start getting ahead,” Susan said. “That’s all gone now.”

With the lack of foot traffic in Bright, the family was considering what to do next when Susan came across the Empty Esky campaign on Facebook.

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Empty Esky, created on January 6, is an initiative to stimulate the local economy by encouraging all Australians to “go on a road trip, visit the local businesses devastated by the fires, hear their stories and purchase their incredible products”.

On both Instagram and Facebook, Empty Esky’s founder Erin has taken to showcasing small businesses where fires have “made it impossible for them to operate and generate a living”.

As well as the restaurant, Kevin and Susan also own The Alpine Sauce Co, a condiments business inspired by the sauces they use at The Chicken Shop that they started after meeting Dr Hazel MacTavish-West from Tasmanian publication The VegDoctor’s Zine.

Susan tagged Empty Esky in one of The Alpine Sauce Co’s photos earlier this week, and that’s when everything changed for the family.

A post shared by Empty Esky asking followers to help the business by purchasing 100 bottles of sauce quickly snowballed, with the goal reached within an hour.

The target was then raised to 500 bottles, which was met on Wednesday, and The Alpine Sauce Co has now sold 1000 bottles to people all around Australia.

“While our profit margin on the sauce is quite small, the volume that we have received in terms of orders has injected some much-needed cash flow into our lives,” Susan said.

“Our biggest sale prior to this was somebody buying two bottles in the restaurant, so it’s quite an improvement it’s fair to say.”

Empty Esky thanked its 20,000 followers on Instagram for supporting Kevin and Susan’s business, revealing that the sales generated had saved them from declaring bankruptcy.

“Things are so dire in Bright at the moment,” the post by Empty Esky read.

“A quiet winter plus having to leave the shop closed for the last few weeks, their situation was bleak. But you guys, Empty Esky fam, you changed that.”

Kevin and Susan Plath, the owners of the Alpine Sauce Co, with their daughter in 2019. Picture: Supplied

The couple have been overwhelmed by the support of Empty Esky and also the Australians who’ve invested in their products.

When asked what people can do to further help fire-affected communities get back on their feet, Susan said: “Please come back to us! Plan a trip to areas affected by this. Buy online. And spread the word. And thank you to those who have helped so far. You are changing lives.”