As many businesses struggle with a lack of customers due to the spread of COVID-19, one industry is surging and looking to add more staff.
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Country Casseroles has bounced back from losing all its event catering, to the point where the business is looking to bring in extra staff to help meet the demand.
Part-owner Ian Tantau told The Courier orders for the business' 'healthy home-delivered meals' has skyrocketed of late, quickly surpassing its usual customer base of around 500.
"We've already got quite a strong following in Ballarat, around 500 members and we're looking to take on as many more as we can," he said.
"For us it's been about replacing lost customers with new ones."
Mt Tantau says he has always seen the business' delivery service as essential to assist elderly customers.
"I've always considered what we do very important. A lot of our customers may not be able to get out much and rely pretty heavily on us.
"We've had people call from all over the world looking to put in orders to help their family members."
Unsure of what the future holds for the business, Mr Tantau said he and his staff are doing their best to ensure they're ready for any obstacle that comes their way.
"We're gearing up so we're prepared for whatever comes next. We expect some customers who might order from us once a month to increase to once a week.
"Once the word continues to spread locally about the good fresh food we can deliver, I think more and more people will take advantage of what we have to offer."
The business owner also stressed the importance of supporting local businesses during this time.
"We source all our food and ingredients from local businesses and we'll continue to do that for as long as we can.
"It's crucial that people support all local businesses, because if a business is forced to close its doors during this period, everyone wants them to be able to open back up when we're in the clear."
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