After surviving the pandemic, extreme weather of Biblical proportions and a cost-of-living crunch, the owners of The Jetty are inviting the next generation of owners to take on the outdoor drinking and dining precinct.
Announced via Instagram, prospective owners are invited to get in touch, but co-owner Kelly Carey said the team weren't quite calling it quits yet.
"This is our favourite time of year, we love being at The Jetty now, because it's a social thing for us as well, we just love what it does for the community, it's ticked every box for us," Kelly said.
But while the shipping container plus giant dome creation that currently inhabits the grounds of the former Bulli Bowling Club seems like a permanent institution now, there were times where its future was much less assured.
Opening only eight days before the first COVID lockdown in 2020, what was initially thought to be a temporary closure,turned into a drive-thru set up that in an unexpected way formed the foundation of the group that would support the unconventional venue for the best part of the next four years.
"It built community for us, it built our brand, and it also built great connections with all the food truck operators and businesses that were also in a situation where they had to pivot their business models," Kelly said.
"That was a real demonstration of everyone having empathy for one another and standing side by side in an environment that none of us had ever navigated before."
The restrictions also helped the group refine their business model and formalise their approvals to operate on the old bowling greens. The Jetty became one of the first venues in the Illawarra to combine the craft beer and food truck concept, now found throughout the region from Bellambi to Unanderra.
But just after the restrictions fully lifted in early 2022, the venue was hit by ferocious storms, and winds that ripped up the newly installed dome. Once again, the community that built up around the venue came together.
"Everyone rallied behind us, and we feel that sped along our relationship with everyone, around our business and we're super grateful for that," Kelly said.
Now with a few weekends left before the owners wrap up, Mrs Carey lists off the customers who have become an extended family to her and her husband Michael and their two young boys.
"The Hoffmans, the Potters, the Andersons, they were there from the very beginning and they've continued to be there."
The venue is up for sale to the right buyer, and while there are plans to continue the Coal Coast Brewing Company as two separate businesses, Kelly said given the symbiotic nature of the two, if there was interest in a package, this could be arranged.
With a job back in the corporate world supporting entrepreneurs for Kelly, and plans to spend more time with family, the group are looking for new owners with the same love and passion for the Bulli neighbourhood as they had, with a word of advice.
"You are the curator of people's experiences," she said.
"It's a privilege to have everyone come and arrive at the Jetty and spend time with us, so make you try and enjoy that because that's where you'll get the real feedback from the customers."
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