A local cafe is making sure its regulars get their morning coffee during the Bulli Pass closure by opening an hour earlier.
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On Tuesday morning at 9am, Bulli Pass will close for two months and people who used the road to drive to work in Sydney will have to travel along one of the detour routes.
That means leaving home earlier, and maybe missing out on their morning coffee for the road.
But Stokes Lane Cafe owner Samuel Dodd is making sure his customers can still get their caffeine by opening the doors of his Princes Highway, Bulli, business an hour earlier.
From next Tuesday, Mr Dodd will be opening up for the regulars at 5am to make sure those drivers can still stop in.
”I’ve got a lot of regulars who come in at six o’clock in the morning on the dot and they might not be able to come in any more because they have to leave about 20 minutes earlier,” owner Samuel Dodd said.
“So I’m just looking after the regulars.”
He said he was also doing what he could to ensure his business and the local staff he employs were not affected by the two-month closure.
“All my staff are from Bulli and I spend about $6000 a week in wages,” Mr Dodd said.
“This could affect me pretty strongly and I thought I might be able to cover everyone’s costs if this changes the cafe.
“What I’m worried about is if everyone goes up Mt Ousley instead of going up the coast road and I lose that trade.
“So I’m trying to counter it before I run into problems financially for two months.
“Business is a risk as it is and this is another added-on risk for the business.”
Despite the possibility it could affect his business, Mr Dodd understands the need to close Bulli Pass.
“Obviously it needs to be done because of safety concerns and I’m all for it getting it done,” he said.
“There’s no point in complaining about the closure because it needs to be done. Anything to do with safety needs to be fixed.
“Safety comes first. If someone could get hurt by it then obviously they need to shut it.”