AFTER more than a decade of closed doors, a general store and tavern in the Mallee has a new lease on life.
The Paruna General Store and Tavern re-opened in November by Adelaide-based duo Ann Marie Boyce and Dino Nardecchia.
“The support has been brilliant,” Ms Boyce said.
“The surrounding farmers come in and support it.”
Ms Boyce said she stumbled across the Paruna store property by accident.
“I was actually looking for a respite house for a disability support business and I looked at the school across the road as recommended by a local client,” she said.
“But, this store was a good price and had lots of opportunities, so I thought, ‘Let’s give it a go’.”
The store is now open seven days a week, while the tavern is open Thursday to Saturday, with meals on Friday and Saturdays.
Ms Boyce said she was proud to offer somewhere for locals to gather.
“A lot of the farmers now congregate with their mates and just chat about what has gone on for the week because where else do they do it?” she said.
“A problem shared is a problem halved.”
While renovating, Ms Boyce said some art work from the tavern’s glory days was discovered.
“One of the locals said, ‘On that wall are all the drawings, peel it off and have a look’,” she said.
“So, a couple of weeks later, we peeled it off and there were all the drawings.
“All we have done is put a gloss over them.”
The store and tavern now employs six people and Ms Boyce thanked the Brown’s Well community.
“Support has been enormous by the locals and without their support, we wouldn’t have been able to do it,” she added.