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A bustling cafe prepares for its last weekend in the near future after its desperate search for a new chef fails.
Born and raised in Bulli, in the NSW town of Wollongong, Stokes Lane Cafe owner Sam Dodd, 36, told the Daily Mail Australia that he had made the heartbreaking decision to only trade Monday to Friday after being unable to find a replacement cook. .
Mr Dodd said Covid’s devastating toll on the hospitality industry directly hit his business and was a key reason he had not been able to replace his weekend chef, who recently left the company after four years.
“Covid has really stuffed us up, there’s just no staff in the hospitality industry,” he said.
‘I searched very hard for two months, but I heard next to nothing.
“I had a man from abroad who showed interest but it didn’t happen and another man came and made an appointment to meet him but he just didn’t show up.”
Mr Dodd took to Facebook to break the news to his loyal customers and his message was met with an outpouring of support
Mr Dodd (pictured with his family) says he is looking forward to spending his weekends with his wife and two young children, ages one and three, until a new chef is found.
Mr Dodd took to Facebook to break the news to his loyal customers and his post was met with a torrent of support.
“This is the post we hoped I didn’t have to write, but after weeks of a relentless recruiting campaign, we’ve still got to find a cafe chef who can uphold the Stokes standard you’ve come to know and love,” he wrote. he. .
“Our failed search has left us no choice but to regretfully close our doors for the weekend shift.
“We hope you can understand us and be patient with us as we strive to resume normal business, your loyalty and support have made Stokes the thriving business we know today, please stay with us.”
Dodd said he loved his locals in Bulli, but closing on weekends was the best option as he also has a cafe at the local hospital that he has to supply Monday to Friday.
Mr Dodd even resorted to printing a huge advertisement (pictured) to try and find a chef – but to no avail
“The industry was shut down during Covid and everyone was caught off guard and went out and got new jobs so no apprentices came through,” Mr Dodd said.
“So now all the cooks and apprentices have different jobs and that’s why we’re where we are.
“Monday to Friday I can serve most of my regular customers and during the week I also have to serve the food for the hospital, so that’s why I went for weekend closures instead of Monday and Tuesday.
“I’ve explored every corner and this way the least amount of people hit because nobody lost their job and I could set up the weekend staff with alternative weekend work.”
Mr Dodd said he recently let all his staff sit down to tell them the bad news, but there was a silver lining for his weekend staff as one of his loyal customers runs the local Woolworths in Bulli and agreed to keep his staff there let work.
“The industry was shut down during Covid and everyone was caught off guard and went out and got new jobs so no apprentices came through,” Mr Dodd said.
Mr Dodd said the main thing he was concerned about was risking his company’s reputation by opening on weekends with a lack of staff or entirely new hires.
“Do I jeopardize the reputation of the cafe to open weekends or am I transparent, open and honest, weather the storm and go again and keep our reputation and name intact, that was the question,” he said.
“In the end I decided to just slap it on the chin and make sure the reputation of the company stayed, so we’ll do a bit of a reset and then go again at the weekend next year.
“We just don’t want the level of service to go down and the thought of reducing the quality makes me shudder because if that happens it could take years to rebuild customer trust.”
While admitting the decision was difficult to make, Mr. Dodd said he was looking forward to spending his weekends with his wife and two young children until a new chef was found.
“I’ve been working every weekend for fifteen years,” said Mr. Dodd.
“This is my first break in a long time. I have a one-year-old and a three-year-old, so I can take them for a bike ride and just spend some time with my family.”
Mr Dodd said he had no doubts that his cafe would soon resume weekend operations and was aiming to reopen seven days a week early in 2023.
He is so confident in the longevity of his café that he signed a new 15-year lease on the shop last week.
“My goal is to reopen at the weekend early next week,” he said.
‘All my employees still have all hours, we are open from Monday to Friday and it is what it is. So even though we closed the weekends, no jobs were lost.
‘We just need to get the industry back on track.’
Mr Dodd is very confident in his cafe (pictured), which recently signed a 15-year lease
Mr Dodd’s Facebook post of the difficult news was met with an outpouring of community support.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear this news. Your business is so good for the community. Glad you’re still trading during the week. I’ll make sure to stop by sometime this week. Hugs to you and your team!’ one person wrote.
“Sorry to hear this guys… You guys are an absolutely amazing team and I have no doubt everything will be fine. Enjoy your weekends and family time Sam!’ noted for a moment.
‘Stokes Lane is an absolutely wonderful family run business that makes the locals very happy no matter when they are open! All the best, Sam,” said a third.
Mr Dodd said he has no doubts that his cafe will soon be back up and running on weekends and is targeting early 2023 to reopen seven days a week.