New owners open doors of Lorne’s Swing Bridge Café

LORNE’S beloved Swing Bridge Café re-opened in time for Christmas with new owners Tony and Irma Bustos at the helm.

The pair have spent months hard at work restructuring the kitchen, painting, and adding their own touch of style to the beach side institution at the mouth of the Erskine River.

“The way it looks now is unbelievable…it’s alive, it’s a beautiful thing,” Mr Bustos said on opening day on Thursday last week.

“We’ve put a lot of love into it.

“The weather wasn’t the best on first day but we’re glad as there’s lot of things that can go wrong on the first day so its busy, but we haven’t been flooded like we were warned so that’s good.”

After a soft opening with a limited menu of coffee and pastries for the first week, so that everyone could familiarise themselves with the space, Mr Bustos said customers could expect a full menu and extended opening hours after Christmas.

The town’s shortage of seasonal workers has so far not afflicted the café’s staffing requirements, with a surplus of people looking to work there.

“I tell you, it’s unreal, everyone has struggled to get staff but we’ve been telling people to wait,” Mr Bustos said.

“I’ve got seven workers in the place today, it looks like everyone wants to work in the Swing Bridge, we’ve got a good crew, it’s been great.”