By Tate Papworth
The sun is shining – sometimes – and the weather is getting warmer, but Brimbank Park’s cafe remains empty and unused.
The cafe closed its doors earlier this year.
Parks Victoria put out a call for expressions of interest in leasing out the site in May, with the plan to have a tenant in place by spring.
It also said short-term agreements for mobile food vendors would be initiated.
Neither plan has come to fruition.
Parks Victoria district manager Mike Forsyth last month said interest from food truck vendors to operate at Brimbank Park had been “limited”.
Claire Cooper, owner of Happy Dayz Mobile Cafe, disputes that claim.
“My husband and I put in an application back in May,” she said. “We never got any sort of reply back or correspondence from them at all, which was pretty disappointing.”
Ms Cooper said she was more than willing to work with Parks Victoria.
“We would’ve been able to work weekends, weekdays, whatever they wanted,” she said.
“Really, we would’ve been able to do whatever they requested until they found a permanent tenant.”
The former Keilor local said she was saddened to see the park under-utilised.
“The park isn’t that busy, but if you at least had someone serving food and drinks, people might go down,” she said.
“We serve coffee and cafe-style food, which might have been a good short-term solution.”
