After a devastating fire put them on the backfoot, a Wagga business will close its doors after nearly 14 years of being an “iconic” meeting spot.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Cache Store of Food owners, Renee and Anthony Chambeyron, will close their doors after business this Thursday.
In 2017, the cafe erupted in flames leaving the inside destroyed. The business included a cafe, accommodation and catering.
“The fire put us on the back foot because we closed for nearly 10 months,” Mr Chambeyron said.
“A lot of customers had to go find somewhere else and started new routines.
“We really found the first eight or nine months of trade really tough and we had some shortfalls in our insurance so at this stage financially it’s unstable to trade.”
Cache was born in 2005, when Mrs Chambeyron decided to open a cafe.
“We never thought it would be this big,” she said.
“I just started in a cafe and we just grew because we don't like to sit still and then if an opportunity came along we took it.
“We have employed amazing staff. At our peak, we had 85 and now we have about 40.”
Mr Chambeyron said it is a shame because it's not the way you want to go out after 14 years.
“We got plenty of memories and we made great friends,” he said.
“Having it for such a long time there has been a few tears and had some rocky roads and we want to cherish the great memories and customers.”
Mrs Chambeyron said when they made the decision to close, they notified their staff and have been helping them to look for their next step.
“It was really important to us to help them find jobs,” she said.
Mr Chambeyron said they are going to take a break and maybe go away.
“We’ll sit back what our next move will be and maybe even move away and see what is out there,” he said.
“It’s been a great journey and we have been trying to sell for 10 months but it’s such a large organisation.
“Who knows we may open a little cache in the future.”
The duo said they have no words for how much their loyal customers, staff and suppliers mean to them.
“We have learnt a lot from everyone and we will cherish the next few days,” Mr Chambeyron said.
“We thank everyone so much,” Mrs Chambeyron said.
While you’re with us, did you know that you can now receive updates straight to you inbox each day at 6am from the Daily Advertiser? To make sure you’re up to date with all the Wagga news sign up here.