Grinding away: Wagga cafe owner breaks silence on delayed Estella build

Announced last August, Mock Orange's new venture from Lake Albert to the city's north was set to open its doors by the end of 2023, however a series of circumstances has now pushed that date back by months.

The popular Lake Albert-based business is on track to become the first official cafe for the city's north, however two cafes are already on the cards for the nearby Boorooma Shops precinct.

This week, Mock Orange Lake Albert cafe owner Roslyn Mitchell broke the silence around delayed plans for her newest venture at the new Estella Central Shopping Centre.

Ms Mitchell has grand plans but said the project has been held back due to several reasons, ranging from negotiations over fit-out costs to rent increases and a build date.

Consequently, Ms Mitchell is yet to sign the lease agreement, however she plans to do so when a build date is locked in and that may not be far off.

"There's been a bit of a delay over Christmas, but the impression from our real estate [agent] is that we might still be on track for March," Ms Mitchell said.

However, experience has taught her not to promise anything until a build date is locked in.

"The people in our northern suburbs have waited a long time for the Mock Orange at Estella and before that, they waited twenty-something years for [the Estella Central Shopping Centre to be built]," Ms Mitchell said.

Over the past year, Ms Mitchell has expended a lot of time and money into the project and said it is starting to add up.

"I've spent the past year developing staff leadership, paying extra, taking [time off] myself planning Estella, and this store [really] needs to be open now," she said.

"Ultimately, the latest I could really financially afford to open was January, and yet here we are at the end of January, so I'm desperate to get a build date [locked in] to survive.

"Thankfully I have a tonne of amazing customers at Lake.

"We serve a lot of coffee, but my costs are high because we've got the depth of experience and we're ready to expand."

Since the cafe's first store in Lake Albert opened in 2017, it has developed quite a following in the local community, and Ms Mitchell has grand plans for the Estella store, however with a much younger demographic in the city's north, she is looking to branch out a bit.

She said the cafe fit out will be "slick and efficient", and said staff will "warm it up with their service and quality food".

Further down the track, there are also plans to reopen the cafe as a bar one to two nights per week.