Ballarat businesses suffer another huge blow as weather wreaks havoc

Trees felled by 100km/h winds have blocked roads, cut power to thousands of homes and damaged buildings.

Dozens of shops, cafes and restaurants were forced to close on Friday due to power outages, causing stress and loss of income to owners and staff.

Part-owner of Armstrong Street restaurant Saigon Allee Lucy Nguyen was finding torches and candles for her chefs to prepare food when she spoke to The Courier on Friday afternoon.

She said Powercor had indicated power would be restored to the restaurant by 8pm, so she had her fingers crossed they could open for dinner service.

Ms Nguyen said she had contacted all customers who had booked for the early dinner service to notify them about the situation.

"It is sad because we have full house for the early session and only a few spots left for the later one," she said.

"I am honestly stressed."

Saigon Allee owner Rick Collins confirmed with The Courier at 5pm on Friday they now decided to close the restaurant for the night as power had not yet been restored.

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It is another blow for the restaurant that had to close last weekend because its three main chefs had not yet received their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

"We are fully vaccinated tonight ready for this weekend, so it is our second weekend in a row we have had issues.

"Hopefully we can get power back as early as we can.

"It is unexpected, but there is nothing we can do about it."

The Workshop Cafe owner Meg Zarafa said she had to sell off a cabinet full of pre-prepared baguettes and sandwiches when the power went out on Friday morning.

"It is a pretty hard thing to have to close, particularly after what we have all gone through with COVID," she said.

"It takes a toll. It is not what everyone needs right now, but no one can control the weather."

Owner of Buninyong cafe Maggie and Kate, Katrine Taylor, said she did not even get a chance to open the shop on Friday morning, with power out from the early hours.

"Friday is our biggest day. It is a big loss of income," she said.

"I own the pizzeria too so I am hoping to be able to open there tonight."

Owner of Ballarat Central cafe Cobb's Coffee Brendan Wrigley said the power went out at his business at 8.30am, after a busy few hours of service.

"The power went out for a split second, everyone went quiet, then it came back on and there was a cheer in the cafe before it went out again," he said.

"After an hour I made the call to send everyone home. I can't keep staff members standing around twiddling their thumbs.

"A lot of other cafes in town are open. It seems to be the luck of the draw who has power and who doesn't.

"I don't want to seem spiteful but it is tough to take when you see someone walk past with someone else's coffee.

"There is so much optimism right now with the state opening and this is just a massive pain in the arse."

The Big W side of Bridge Mall did have power on Friday, but many of the shops on the other side were forced to shut due to the power outage.

Bridge Mall Traders Association general manager Germaine Davey said the traders on either side were on two different grids.

"It is devastating. It is a situation where it has not stopped for them," she said.

The Source Bulk Foods Ballarat owner Janet Smith said it was frustrating not to be able to open.

"We were hoping this weekend, with a lot more movement around the state, would have given us a really strong weekend and a start of recovery. It is a blow we really didn't need," she said.

"Three staff, no money in the till - it is a big financial impact."

Navigators Nursery was hit hard by the wild wind, owner Lisa Seville said, forcing her to close the gates to the public on Friday due to safety concerns.

Ms Seville said her and her partner Neville Quick awoke to a 'terrible mess' in the nursery on Friday, including a piece of tin roof blown off the back of the shop, plants knocked over, a broken pot and fallen tree branches.

"Last night we sat inside, listened to the howling wind and thought 'our poor babies'," she said, describing the plants they nurture with so much love and care.

Ms Seville said it was 'bit of a blow' to have to shut on Friday but she remained positive.

"We need to get a quick wind break in. Being a new nursery, these are the things you discover," she said.

"Sometimes a nursery can be a really protected environment but being exposed here, it is good because it toughens up the plants.

"We have a lot of rural customers so when people buy the plants that have been exposed to wind, they are not going to go into shock as much when they are planted.

"We will get it cleaned up and looking spic and span again and look forward to welcoming customers again tomorrow."

Ballarat Tramway Museum volunteers had been working hard to prepare for the first weekend of tram operation at Lake Wendouree since the last lockdown.

President Paul Mong said fallen trees brought down overhead tram wires and damaged some of the infrastructure on the poles, meaning the trams would not be able to run for the weekend.

"It will take multiple days to repair and probably further work after we safely put it up," he said.

"The impact is huge on the organisation. It will cost us to do the repairs and the cost of not being able to run.

"We are a not for profit organisation run by volunteers, but all our income comes in from visitors riding the trams."

Powercor's website says power is expected to be restored to Ballarat Central and other Ballarat suburbs by 8pm.

SES crews are continuing to work throughout the region to clean up the storm damage.

Visit powercor.com.au/ for power restoration details.

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