Visitors to the iconic Big Rocking Horse in South Australia will no longer be able to buy a drink or bite to eat while enoying the view of the 18m-tall horse.
The Gumeracha park’s cafe is closing after sustaining more than $12,000 worth of damage in Monday’s storm, with wind gusts of up to 105km/h.
The cafe was part of the park around the 25-tonne rocking horse, which was built in the 1980s to attract tourists to the region.
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Mell Penno, who bought the park last year, said she could not afford to replace the stock or multiple fridges and freezes the cafe had lost because that part of the business was not insured against storms.
“We’re estimating just $8000 in stock (lost) … and probably add another $4000 to $5000 in fridges and freezers as well,” Penno said.
“This has truly broken me,” Mell said in a Facebook post and on a sign posted at the cafe.
She said when she took over the business, a $46,000 insurance quote to include storm coverage and stock loss was not affordable.
“We don’t make a lot of money here,” Penno said.
While the cafe is closing, the Big Rocking Horse, mini golf and animal farm will remain open.
However the cafe has had to lay off 16 staff members. Penno said she’s trying her best to find new jobs for staff, especially those with families.
“That’s my biggest pain, the staff who now don’t have jobs because I’ve had to make this very tough decision,” she said.
News of the cafe’s closure on its Facebook page attracted hundreds of people offering donations to help it reopen.
Penno said she won’t ask the community for funds when “there were people worse off”.
Instead, she hopes people will visit The Big Rocking Horse to show their support for the region.
Penno said she spent thousands of dollars building the cafe up, including making the park accessible for people with disabilities.
She said the cafe closing was a big loss for the state and region.
“It’s a piece of history for South Australia,” she said.
“There’s not many food places around (here) so a lot of the locals were coming here to have lunch and getting the bread and milk supplies.”
Many South Australians have commended Penno on her efforts upgrading the park and keeping it open.
“You are obviously hard-working, generous and community minded. Your efforts to breathe life back into an SA icon are valued,” one person said on Facebook.
