A NADI-based coffee and bakery outlet has re-emerged from the deluge of the March flooding and is now better situated than its ill-fated shop located near the heart of the flood prone town.
Bulacinno owner Eileen Rodenburg said the previous coffee shop was completely destroyed during floods. We had to start from scratch because everything was destroyed in our last shop. Everything from our equipment to our food items were gone, she said.
However, despite the loss she said they managed to open a new shop in Namaka.
We were one of the lucky ones because we had been planning to move to Namaka weeks before the floods happened, she said.
We were fortunate to have a place to move to, unlike some other businesses who have to look for places to relocate.
With the new business in Namaka open for six weeks now, Ms Rodenburg said the business was better than their last shop.
Apart from the usual bistro services that we offer, weve also decided to open an independent bakery that is located just near the shop.
Weve decided to go commercial with this new bakery. We want to offer our customers something different and something unique.
She said the bakery would open as early as 6am and would also sell their renowned coffee for the customers.
They can buy bread or whatever they want from the products that we make ourselves and we have chairs outside the new shop where they can enjoy the pastries with coffee.
Ms Rodenburg said despite the struggles the business faced in the 2009 and the flood, it had turned out better than expected.