Hobart cafe: Sisterhood owners overwhelmed by community support

There could be good news for fans of Sisterhood Cafe, which closed unexpectedly because of water damage.

Owner of the Sisterhood Cafe in Sandy Bay, Yasmin Chung. Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

THE owner of a Sandy Bay cafe, which was forced to shut up shop because of water damage weeks after opening, says the business has been inundated with community support and the response has inspired her to look at temporary options to keep the business going.

Yasmin Chung, owner of popular Sandy Bay eatery Sisterhood, which closed indefinitely on Tuesday after an uncapped drain was found to cause underfloor water damage, said community support had helped boost business morale.

“It’s been lovely, we’ve had heaps of support, so many comments on Facebook and direct messages, while we’ve seen some people actually writing their own posts in support of our situation,” she said.

“Surrounding businesses have also directly contacted us offering well wishes which has been amazing.”

SISTERHOOD BRUNCHES ABOVE ITS WEIGHT

Ms Chung said public kindness had been a shining light in a dark time for the six-week-old business.

Head Chef Josh Mathewson and sous chef Kiri Booth. Sisterhood cafe in Sandy Bay which has been badly damaged by water and has been forced to close. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

“Messages of support are helping staff remain positive but it’s hard to stay motivated with no definite timeline for our reopening on the horizon,” she said.

Despite its temporary closure, Ms Chung said the business was still able to make a sale on Wednesday.

“We sell staff T-shirts, and a supportive resident came in today expressing concern over our situation and bought a shirt from us while we were at the shop doing stocktake and tackling the damage,” she said.

“It really exemplifies the level of support we’ve received.”

Ms Chung said the indefinite lay-off would allow the business to explore other ventures.

“It’s only been two days since we closed but we’re already talking about doing a couple pop-ups at other places and we might approach other businesses about possibly renting their space,” she said.

“[An estimated] three months is a very long time to be closed.”

She said the business should have a better idea next week about when it will be able to reopen.