The Proof Is In The Pudding, Or The Birthday Cake

Newcastle Herald

Saturday November 22, 2008

Joanne McCarthy

CESSNOCK patisserie owner Aileen Rose the Queen of Tarts, if you please says birthday cakes will tell her if times are grim in 2009.

"I've had this business for three years and so far, so good," she said.

"People are still getting their coffee and cakes. They're still buying birthday cakes for their kids. It's a sad day when people can't buy birthday cakes so I suppose that will be my test."

She employs six people. The wholesale side of her business supplies shops across the valley. Business had remained steady in the past few weeks, despite the global financial shocks, she said.

The Cessnock shopping strip at the gateway to one of the region's most famous tourist districts has its fair share of empty shops carrying "For lease" signs.

But neither Rose nor fellow shop owner Tanya Burton, of Carousel Cafe at the other end of town, believe empty shops are a sign of an economic downturn.

"Most of them have been there for awhile and have to do with other things, like vandalism," Burton said.

She has owned the cafe for six months and has worked there for five years. Her cafe is not in the main shopping precinct, and business since October has dropped.

"I think everyone's a little bit scared and they're hanging on to their money," she said.

Burton has four children. She reads the news and watches reports predicting a tough 2009, but said being overly concerned about the future was not her way of dealing with things.

"I'm not a person to over-commit so I haven't got a lot to lose," she said. "I'm content at the end of the day knowing everything's paid, and if things get harder and that means I have to work harder, then I will.

"There'll be people out there who will do it a lot tougher than me for a lot of reasons. Sometimes we create our own problems. But you've got to allow for your good times and your bad."

Joanne McCarthy

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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