Ocean Grove business changes hands after three decades

A POPULAR Ocean Grove business is changing hands at the month’s end after more than 30 years of servicing the Bellarine town.

Ocean Grove Home Hardware owners Paul and Yvonne Drake are embarking on the next chapters of their lives, selling their family business at 81 The Terrace to new ownership.

Mr Drake said was an emotional time for the family, walking away from the store they have grown for more than 32 years, but it was time to inject new life into the location.

“It’s been a long time in business, it was a family business all the way through dating back to when my dad and I came into it.

“It was probably about 11 or so years ago we added the old fire station side to it, but the support from the local community over the years has been fantastic.

“We’re really happy to be passing the store over to another family business, so it will continue in that similar vein, but it’s been great supporting the community as well whether it be for sponsorships with community groups and sporting groups.”

The Drake family has sponsored clubs such as the Ocean Grove Football & Netball Club, Rotary Club, Lions Club, and the Ocean Grove Business Association, of which Mr Drake was president for 10 years, as well as supporting local schools and community members.

The Drakes are handing Ocean Grove Home Hardware over to the Bensons, who are no strangers to running a family business, having operated a caravan park out of Beachport in South Australia for eight years.

The family, led by Stacey and Paul Benson has since put managers into their South Australian business and will now divert the majority of their efforts into Ocean Grove Home Hardware, while retaining staff members the Drakes have previously employed.

“The formula Paul and Yvonne have had in place has been very successful, Paul, my husband, and I are very community-minded also, we know what it is to support a small town and how important it is to maintain close relationships within the community,” Ms Benson said.

“We’ll keep striving to continue their dream here, but we can’t do that without staff, and they have a wonderful network of staff who are all locals as well.

“Paul was born in bred in Geelong and I am a farmer’s daughter from regional Victoria, so we’re also very happy to be coming back home to be closer to family.”

The final day of trading under the Drakes’ ownership will be Tuesday, May 28, before the store closes for two days of stocktake and reopens on Friday, May 31.