An emotional week of saying goodbye to customers from the past 19 years marked the end of Nelson’s Prego Mediterranean Foods & Comida Café last week.
Liquidators were appointed for the business last Monday, with doors remaining open Tuesday-Thursday to clear remaining stock.
Owners Peter ‘Mac’ McNairney and Claudia Kern describe last week as emotional and overwhelming.
They first brought the business when it was located next to the library on Halifax St. At that time, it was just a small store front with a large storage room out back, Claudia recalls.
Claudia, originally from Switzerland thought she knew plenty about Mediterranean food, having grown up around it.
“We thought we knew about food, because I'm from Switzerland, and we both lived there for some time, and we thought, ‘Mediterranean foods, how hard can you be’ as you do,” she says.
“We learned pretty quickly that knowing about food and running a business that's got food in it are completely separate things.
“But really from the beginning it was about the people, it was about our customers, that's really what I love doing, is I like talking to people, looking after people, looking after our staff, that's always been a big thing for both of us,” Claudia says.
“The last few days have kind of driven home the fact that we've played a part in our customers' lives,” Mac says.
Mac says there was no decision to be made about closing the business.
“Since 2020 there's just been ongoing one thing or another, and the message has always been, wait until next year, and then next year comes, and then it's the same thing, or something new,” Mac says of the current business climate.
Mac says the roadworks were just one of the nails in the coffin, albeit they came at an awful time.
Claudia says the three days selling the last of the stock was both overwhelming and exhausting.
“I appreciate all these customers coming in, and I appreciate the support. I never really understood just how important our business was to other people.”
Claudia says the highlight of her 19 years was providing 120 hot meals every day for five days to volunteers during the Pigeon Valley Fires.
“It was amazing. I had actually just been diagnosed with breast cancer, and it was a great way of just not thinking about that, because these are people who potentially lose their homes and their animals.”
Claudia and Mac, along with their staff are now all searching for work. But for Claudia, on the final day, her mind is still with her customers.
“Who's going to give people a place to come where they feel safe? Some of my older customers would sit here for two hours with one coffee and do a crossword, and that's not a problem, and they love that - it was their second home, my second home.
“For me, it’s not just a business, as you’re working with people every single day.”
