Nature throws up yet another river to cross
LESSEES at Colleges Crossing Cafe had stocked up for a busy long weekend ... then the heavy rain hit.
Just over a week after Mike and Diane D'Arcy re-opened the cafe, which has been closed since the 2011 floods, a torrential storm has caused another closure.
The cafe will remain closed until the flooded Colleges Crossing bridge opens up.
"It's deja vu. We're pretty much seeing the same thing from 2011 where we got this relentless rain," Mr D'Arcy said.
"This'll be a big test for the park, to see how it survives.
"It's not for the fainthearted, to be the lessees at Colleges Crossing.
"You're always at the mercy of the elements."
The cafe has been rebuilt as part of an $11 million upgrade of the recreation reserve.
After the January 2011 flood, Mr D'Arcy lost his business and his 14 staff members lost their jobs.
"When the lease came up again, we thought, 'Do we go back again and risk the rage of the river'," Mr D'Arcy said.
"The flood could happen again.
"You get the benefit of the (riverside) beauty but you can also pay the price.
"We started from scratch in 2007 and we've had to start from scratch again.
"We didn't do too badly in 2011. We lost the business but people lost homes and they're still struggling.
"A lot of people missed the cafe."
