Bells at Killcare has chosen to make its pop-up bakery permanent, after experiencing overwhelming success and support from the local community.
The 5-star boutique hotel started the bakery during the COVID-19 shutdown as a way to maintain business and keep staff employed.
The establishment has commissioned a proper refrigerated pastry and coffee counter to sell fresh bread, pastries and coffees.
During the lockdown, 55 of Bells staff went on JobKeeper, with all given three days of work a week.
Co-founder and owner of Bells at Killcare, Karina Barry, said the idea saved the establishment.
“When we got shut down, we literally asked ourselves what are we going to do,” she said.
“So we thought, let’s move this big granite kitchen table that we have in the restaurant, put it in the garden room at the front of the manor house, move all the long furniture out, and start selling bread and pastries.
“The next morning there was a queue out the door.
“It did not matter whether you were the restaurant manager or a casual kitchen hand; everybody just did three days.
“Some staff who felt they had compromised immunity worked in the garden.”
Despite staying open, Barry said no one was booking accommodation, making the bakery their only source of income.
“It was just a really galvanising time for all of us, and we were really scared we were going to lose everything, but our team just rallied and connected with the community,” she said.
“It was a real silver lining, and it was really good for the mental health of those of us who were working at that time.
“Anybody who is in their own business knows that their biggest worry is, how am I going to tell my team?
Bread and pastries were previously being baked inhouse for the hotel and restaurant.
However, Barry said that selling these staple food items gave people a reason to get outside.
“I think that it was so devastating for everybody to be locked up at home,” she said.
“We almost created a habit over those couple of months where walking up to Bells to get bread was just what people did.
Bells at Killcare is recognised as one of the only 5-star accommodations on the Central Coast, but Barry said the bakery changed the community’s perception of the property.
“All of a sudden people were just able to come into Bells and get their bread and coffee,” Barry said.
“If we get shut down, we have got that experience, and we know that we have the bakery, the hampers and the takeaway and we know our community is behind us.”
Jacinta Counihan