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<\/p>\n
\u201cI purposely created messy food,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen customers asked why, I\u2019d say, \u2018Look around \u2014 no one\u2019s on their phones. Everyone\u2019s two hands deep in their burger and actually talking to each other.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Regular customers would also recognise Amy by the sunglasses she wore behind the counter each day.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany people have been too scared to ask why I wear them \u2014 most just think I\u2019m high or in a jazz band,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Amy said she wears the glasses due to severe photosensitivity following a major health battle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have lupus and was also diagnosed with brain tumours almost four years ago, which I underwent radiation for \u2014 all while still working,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s left me almost blind in my right eye and with severe photosensitivity.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the closure approaches, Amy said stepping away from the relationships built over the years would be one of the hardest parts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have customers who come in every day,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know their names, their kids\u2019 and grandkids\u2019 names \u2014 even their pets.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really will feel like losing a family.\u201d<\/p>\n
After closing the business, Amy plans to move into a new career path.<\/p>\n
Alongside running the venue she has been studying a double degree in forensic psychology and criminal law and hopes to work in the criminal justice system as an advocate.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be very different to pouring beers and making burgers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so grateful to the beautiful community and especially other local businesses for all of the love and support over the years,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A MURWILLUMBAH burger bar will close on May 1 as rising costs force the popular local venue to shut after seven years. Burger Bar and Grill manager and operator Amy Hitch said the final trading day would fall on her 37th birthday, exactly seven years after she first helped open the business. \u201cI opened the […]<\/p>\n