08/06/2026
It's truly heartbreaking to share this, but we're feeling incredibly vulnerable right now. Sharing this feels incredibly raw and vulnerable, but my heart aches as I write it. Losing our entire shop wasn't just a business; it was the very foundation of our family's dreams.
Losing our entire shop wasn't just a business setback; it was a devastating blow to our family, a result of council neglect that left us with nothing. Every single day since then has been an uphill battle, a relentless struggle to rebuild from scratch, fueled by the hope of securing our daughters' dreams and future.
What makes it even harder to bear are the comments we've been hearing. When people ask if we're "The Lolly Bug" and we gently explain, "No, we're the Bar, not the Bug," and that our little shop on Lithgow Main Street had to temporarily close because of all this, to then be met with, "We're not supporting you, we're only supporting the Bug," (sometimes with more nasty words in there) it just crushes us. It's not about competition; it's about trying to survive. This road closure has impacted us deeply, and we were already struggling before we even had to close our doors.
To have such hurtful and disgusting things said to us, and even about us right in front of us, when all we're trying to do is stay afloat as a local, family-run business... it feels like a punch to the gut. Yesterday, after we made an effort to support a local market that's also facing difficulties, we were met with more of this negativity. It made me wonder, where is the support for all the other local businesses hurting right now? Why do some people have to be so unkind? This is precisely why it's so hard to speak out sometimes, but my heart is just too heavy not to share this. I never wanted the pity party or the hand outs the poor them and backlash I do wish people would just be a bit more kind and thoughtful. We have built this business up.from the ground and worked just as hard to get to where we are but to have ot ripped away from us like this is truly heartbreaking.
