After an early morning start tending to his crops, Brad Moore would often head down to his local cafe at Beulah for a spot of lunch.
The cafe, more than three hours' drive north-west of Melbourne, would offer a cultural clash of menu items from burgers to sushi and was also a meeting place giving locals the chance to socialise with others who lived out of town.
But when the cafe closed during the middle of the sowing season last month, going out for lunch became quite difficult.
"It's an hour round-trip just to go to Warracknabeal to get something to eat and it cuts into a busy day," Mr Moore said.
"If you're busy, you just can't whip into town and grab something," he said.
After opening its doors in 2023, the cafe regularly shut down for short periods during heavy rain due to flooding and septic issues.
Then in May, the cafe was closed for good, a decision that owner Rick Galante said was tough.
"Business was booming," he said.
"We served a lot of the farming community, a lot of the caravans doing the silo art trail, or people just driving on the weekend.
"Over harvest, we were doing seven days a week waking up at 5am and opening up our doors at 7am and serving food until 10 at night for the harvest workers.
“The thing we are upset about is losing the community.”
Relying on volunteers
There is only one place to buy food in Beulah and that's the local convenience store.
Those living in Beulah now have to travel an hour round-trip to nearby Warracknabeal or Hopetoun for lunch, but Mr Moore said that was not sustainable for the growing population.
"Farming is pretty popular at the moment here … with the rain we've had for the past few years … and the families are hanging around a bit more," he said.
Sometimes volunteers help provide lunches to local farmers during the busy sowing and harvest seasons
Volunteers at the kitchen of the town's business centre made 50 roast rolls a day for farmers after the cafe closed.
Within weeks, that number grew to 180 rolls a day.
Mr Moore's mother, Barb, who is also the secretary of the Beulah Historic Learning and Progress Association, said that while people were always willing to help it was a lot to ask of the community long term.
"[They're usually also] involved with school, football, netball, and this business centre here is something that has a volunteer committee too," she said.
Beulah's rise to fame
In 2019, Beulah looked forward to a resurgence in tourism after the film The Dry featuring Australian actor Eric Bana showcased the town worldwide.
But a few months after production, the town lost its general store to fire in July 2019, and the town's only pub closed at the beginning of COVID lockdowns in Victoria in March 2020.
Ms Moore said there was a noticeable visitor boost after The Dry was released, but the lack of food options meant drivers visiting the region now would not stay for long.
"There is coffee available here but that's all we can offer people now, and it's hard to get people to come and visit," she said.
Funding sought for new supermarket
After the cafe's closure, locals are now calling on the Yarriambiack Shire Council to subsidise the reopening of the town's supermarket at a cost of about $1.5 million.
Beulah resident and chairman of a new local supermarket committee Shaun Thompson said the community hoped to secure the funding.
"The store is our number one priority, and it's near the top of the priority list for the shire as well," he said.
Mr Thompson said elderly Beulah residents who could not drive were also hugely affected by the supermarket's closure.
"They may go with [planned activity groups] to Warracknabeal, but they really relied on that local store," he said.
He said a new supermarket could be beneficial for new residents moving to the area who would be working on projects like a recently approved mineral sand mine in Minyip.
"There's a flow-on effect as all those local industries need people to work in them and live here … and they all need to eat," he said.
More than just feeding the town
The Beulah community is now weighing up its options after a call-out for ideas on food options for the town.
Beulah Historic Learning and Progress Association president Alan Lehmann said there had been enquiries ranging from food vans on the nearby Henty Highway to offering dinners at community facilities on Friday and Saturday nights.
"We're just plugging the gaps and there are many ideas, so that's good," Mr Lehmann said.
He said the cafe that had operated in the town was more about just serving food.
"The cafe had a nice little eating area outside and on nice days … there could have been 20 people having lunch, socialising, and talking about things happening in the district that were important to them, and we don't have that now."
Posted, updated
