For a long time the owner of Blayney’s Ironbark cafe, Joanne Howarth, has considered opening another outlet in Carcoar, her hometown.
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Now that the renewed Royal Hotel has reinvigorated the town, Joanne and her Carcoar venture partner Courtney Simmons, have formed the Carcoar Collective, three businesses that plan on bringing a bit of life to the historic village.
Situated in the small shops in the 1876 built ‘The Terraces’, the collective consists of Joanne and Courtney’s ‘Village Grocer’, Ashleigh Carroll’s Vida Boutique and a smaller version of Millthorpe’s Tomolly gift shop, established by Belinda Satterthwaite.
To be open from Thursday to Sunday, the Village Grocer Carcoar is expected to be open by March and will combine both the convenience of a corner store with items such as fresh bread, milk, fruit, vegetables and meat, as well as great coffee and cakes.
“We will provide the bare essentials for everyone and also cater for the tourism industry when they come to visit on weekends,” Joanne said.
Ashleigh Carroll has a personal link with the Terraces building and is excited about opening her first physical store.
“My great-grandmother used to live here in this building and my family have always lived here in Carcoar,” she said.
Transitioning from an online store to a physical one will mean that Ashleigh will need to balance her work as a nurse in Cowra.
“I’ll be selling items like women’s clothing and jewellery and I hope to be open for the Australia Day Fair and then I’ll decide what hours I’ll be open after then, but I’ll definitely be open on the weekends,” she said.
Belinda Satterthwaite moved to Carcoar from Millthorpe 12 months ago and is creating a smaller version of her popular Tomolly store in Millthorpe, in one of the shopfronts.
“I think that there is a great opportunity for Carcoar and Millthorpe to work collaboratively and there is just so much going on here in Carcoar at the moment,” she said.
“People have to be realistic and know that they’re not going to make a million overnight, but Carcoar is really an untapped resource.”
Owner of the Terraces, James Moule, said that he was feeling very confident about the new venture.
“They’re all local people and they know what will work for the tourists and locals alike,’ he said.