It has been 12 months since beloved lolly store, "The Lolly Bug' burnt down. In that time, the community has watched on with support for the business as it rebuilds. "People have been so supportive, It's been amazing," Owner, Sharon Tofler said. Ms Tofler has reflected on the challenges she has faced over the last year, and how she has adapted to the situation. Since the store was lost, Ms Tofler has been operating the Lolly bug from a trailer at the site in Hartley. "It's been challenging, particularly as we've had to do most of the packing from home to be able to service the trailer," she said. "The trailer has been a lot busier than we had predicted, which is fantastic." According to Ms Tofler, Rebuilding the Lolly bug has been a family effort, which has made the process slightly easier. "We've been incredibly lucky that my son and husband are both builders, so they are putting in the hours. They have all the contacts in the industry, which is terrific," she said. Ms Tofler is aiming to have the business completely back on its feet for the Easter holiday period. "I definitely want to back in by Easter, but the weeks are going down quickly now. It's only nine weeks away. I'm hoping for the middle of March." "We've been madly putting in orders to the suppliers to have them in by early March, so we can start getting them on the shelves." The new building is entering its final stages of completion, according to Ms Tofler. "The outside is done. At the moment we have the gyprockers in there, they are working hard. That should be complete next week, so then the painters and the tilers will be able to come in," she said. Once the building is complete, work will begin on getting the interior ready to display the products that locals and visitors love. "There's a lot of displays and shelving to get in, but a lot of that is ready in the workshop at home," Ms Tofler said. While the building that once was home to Lolly Bug is gone and the business moves forward, memories of the premise will be present in its new store. "We've paid a bit of homage to the old building. We've tried to keep that same kind of look to it," Ms Tofler said. Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
