There’s a pig and a goose at Wendy and Clive Kirby’s farm in Clarendon, and on the signboard of their general foodstore in Buninyong.
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The owners of Buninyong cafe Pig and Goose first moved to the area six years ago from their home in Melbourne.
In search of a tree change for their family, the couple and their two daughters moved from Yarraville to a three hectare farm in Clarendon.
“It just got really busy and crazy. We decided we wanted a tree change so we came up and bought a farm,” Mrs Kirby said, and they both laughed.
“We have got the cows and the sheep and the geese and the ducks and the dogs and the cats and the pig.
“We like the area and the people. This is a village sort of atmosphere which we were used to in Yarraville.”
Mr Kirby continued his work as a chef at Peppers Mineral Springs Hotel in Hepburn Springs before the opportunity came up to establish their own business in Buninyong in 2015.
The couple began Pig and Goose as a fine dining restaurant, before transitioning to casual and relaxed dining in response to customer feedback.
The general foodstore has since become a meeting place for Buninyong locals.
“We have a great clientele of daily customers that are almost like family. I would miss them if we left here,” Mrs Kirby said.
“Those customers have become friends with other customers and now they have become this big group which is gorgeous. We have created our own little community in here, we love it.
“This gentleman in his 80s who is a regular walked in one night. I said ‘what are you doing here?’ and he said ‘I thought I would just cruise past and see who was here, I knew someone would be here’. The next thing you know there is 10 of them out there having fish and chips on the deck for dinner.
“These are people that have lost their partners and they don’t have to be alone because they know somebody that they know will be here and that’s what I love. That is what hospitality is all about to me.”
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