After more than a decade behind the counter of one of Junee's most iconic establishments, Debbie Daley is looking to hang up the apron.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The proprietor of the Junee Railway Cafe for the past 12 years, Ms Daley now says "it's time for me to step away and let someone else give it a go."
The cafe is now on the market, with an expectation to be sold within the next several years.
"It is heritage listed, so I hope it will stay as a cafe under new owners," Ms Daley said.
"I hope that the new owners will add their own touches and keep what's existing.
"People love to put their own stamp on things, but when we came here it was a blank canvas."
Before Ms Daley came to acquire the diner in 2007, it had had three previous incarnations as a cafe, but a much longer history as a railway refreshment room.
"One day I was walking down here, and I saw the for lease sign, and I thought, 'Junee needs a cafe, and what a better place for it than this?'" Ms Daley recalls.
Up until that point, it had been closed for several years, and it would take another month of internal works to bring the building back to its former glory.
Ms Daley retained much of the 1800s character, even adding her own nod to the by-gone era by decorating the walls with historic photographs from the railway station's heyday.
"Back when it was a refreshment room the only lighting inside was through gas lamps," she said.
"That had been converted to electric light along the way, and a lot of things have been modernised. But the columns, the mirrors, the counter, that's all the same as it was.
"It was important to me that it stayed similar to how it was [in the 1800s], it's a grand old building and I think that does surprise people when they come through the tiny doors to see what's in here."
Remembering the day the doors swung open for the first time, Ms Daley admits she can see how much she has learnt in her 12 years at the cafe.
"The first day we opened was the day of the Schoolboys Carnival," she said.
"There were lines out the door, we definitely weren't ready for that kind of crowd. I remember one customer that day had a hamburger, and he told me he enjoyed the 'cold salad roll'.
"There's a lot I'd have done differently now."
In shifting its use from a railway room to a cafe, Ms Daley believes she has successfully altered the character of the town for the better.
"This was a place for outsiders mostly, they'd stop here on the train, dine and stay in the accommodation upstairs," she said.
"The locals rarely came in here. I still get people coming in who remember it when it was a refreshment room, and they love that it's still here."
But, those struggles pail into a minor memory when compared to the pride Ms Daley continues to feel in having run built such a successful community hub.
"It has stood the test of time, and a lot of businesses can't say that at all," she said.
Having been born and raised in Junee, Ms Daley is not looking to leave the town, but will instead use the time away from the business to "spend more time with my grandchildren and my ponies".
She will also continue undergoing cancer treatment.
All the while, her husband Jason Daley, will continue ownership and operation of Wagga's Backdoor Cafe.
As she now prepares to bow out, Ms Daley has shared her advice to the cafe's future owners.
"Keep committed and dedicated. Have an eye for detail and a strong work ethic," she said.
"Appreciate and look after your customers, because without them you don't have a business."