The Metung Bakery is hoping to re-open its doors in a couple of weeks following a devastating fire, which wiped out several shops in the village.
The bakery has relocated across the road to a larger vacant building and is ready to open dependent upon the power company, AusNet, upgrading power supply to the premises.
Ray Weinzierl, who owns the shops destroyed by fire as well as the building which the bakery is relocating to, said all the new equipment, including ovens, display cabinets, pie warmers and fridges had almost been installed at the new site.
“The town needs a bakery, but the power company has indicated they don’t think they can get the power on before Christmas,” he said.
Lam Nguyen, who runs the bakery with his wife, Lien, sister Lan and niece, Teoni, admitted to being frustrated by the delay in re-opening the bakery.
“It’s their livelihoods, so I can understand why they are anxious to open as soon as possible,” Mr Weinzierl said.
Mr Nguyen and his extended family relocated to Metung from Sydney 18 months ago to run the bakery.
A former Telstra technician, Mr Nguyen said he had become “sick of city life” and Metung was beckoning.
“We wanted to move to this beautiful location, every day is paradise here, it’s a great community,” he said.
However, since the fire, Mr Nguyen admitted “it’s been pretty tough”.
“It’s a family business, I put my heart and soul into it and lost everything,” he said.
“We’ve had to start over again, but fortunately the community has given us a lot of support, there’s a lot of love from the community.”
Metung has resembled a ghost town since the fire tore through four businesses over a month ago.
Rebuilding the burnt shops is expected to take six months.
The insurance company has assessed the buildings but is still to finalize a payout to those affected.
Lockwood Real Estate has been the least affected by the catastrophe as it largely operates in the cloud.
“We were initially operating from our lounge rooms and the car following the fire, but now we’ve moved into the former Tourism Information Centre,” proprietor Ian Lockwood explained.
“We’re bouncing back alright.”
Mr Lockwood said the community had been “terrific” in offering assistance.
“It’s been quite humbling actually,” he said.
The fish and chip shop and adjoining Nautica Restaurant remain closed and will need to be rebuilt.
Mr Weinzierl said while the building had been made safe, waiting for the insurance and appointing a builder so close to Christmas had made the process so much slower.
“I think we’ll be looking at June of next year before the rebuild is completed,” Mr Weinzierl said.
For Lam Nguyen, he says reopening the bakery will allow him to “give back to the community”.
“What they’ve done for us has been amazing, they’ve helped get us back on our feet and lifted our spirits,” he said.
PICTURED: Lam Nguyen, outside the new Metung Bakery, which following a devastating fire, has relocated across the road and is due to open within a couple of weeks.
