Yackandandah business owners Sebastian and Melinda Nedziak have opened a takeaway store in the town, and plan to complete their 'trifecta of pie shops' by expanding to Beechworth.
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The owners of Gum Tree Pies opened Yack Takeaway on High Street a week ago and are gearing up for their first major event in the town's famous folk festival.
"It was run as a takeaway shop for 17 years or so and they were a lovely couple; he was 85 and she was in her 70s, so they closed in October last year," Mrs Nedziak said.
"The town was missing a takeaway shop, so we decided to buy it, and we’ve added scoop ice-cream.
"The burgers and fish and chips are popular - when we opened we went through our entire fish supply in the one day."
The building has been refurbished in a way that opens up a space separate to the seven-day-a-week takeaway shop and talks are underway to introduce a cycle shop and other tourism-related offerings.
"The businesses even out almost identically; Yack is a lot more steady week-in, week-out, whereas Bright has peaks and troughs.
"We do Canberra market still every week, we don’t do our Melbourne markets anymore but we have customers who will make the trip up to pick up pies.
"They’re a bit sad we stopped doing the Melbourne markets, but we can’t be everywhere at once."
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The couple do however plan to open Gum Tree Pies within the year at Beechworth, and are in talks with the owner of the former milk bar.
"There’s a lot of work to do, because we want to go upstairs as well, so we've told him we are very interested when he’s ready," Mrs Nedziak said.
"I think that will round out the trifecta of pie shops and then with Yack Takeaway, that’s enough for us."
The couple will be hiring more junior staff to accommodate for the Beechworth shop and the takeaway business, which is taking them back to their beginnings at a cafe.
"We started out doing things like this at the nursery nine years ago, so it's taken a little time to get back into it again, but we love it and the community are so supportive," Mrs Nedziak said.