Nicole Ciacca (apron-less) and the team from the new refurbished and re opened Dog on the Tuckerbox Kiosk and Farm Shop.
The newly refurbished Dog on the Tuckerbox Kiosk and Farm Shop reopened to the public last Thursday (September 25), with a new look and new offerings just in time for school holidays. The Kiosk and Farm Shop is the first business to reopen as part of the big Snake Gully Station redevelopment that is taking place.
Nicole Ciacca, General Manager of the DOTT Development said it has been really busy since opening on Thursday.
“My aim was to get it open for school holidays so that as many people as possible could see that we are open again, and we had lots of locals come out which was really nice to see.
“I really wanted the locals to see that we are taking the custodianship of the DOTT very seriously,” Nicole said.
“We completely gutted and renovated the existing kiosk, it was opened in 1956 and hadn’t had a lot of love, so we’ve spent 8 weeks completely renovating the exterior and interior; the only thing left alone was the roof.
“We have reopened it as a kiosk and farm shop, so the offering is a range of our own pantry items such as olive oil, jams, rock candies and boiled lollies and sauces, and they are represented under the label ‘Annie’s Pantry,’ which we have done as a tribute to Annie Pyers, who was the original shop owner, so our pantry items are really high quality and follow a lot of the old methods and recipes.
“Our jams are 75% fruit, no nasties, our ethos is if Annie wouldn’t have had it in her pantry, then we don’t either,” said Nicole.
So, while it is the Dog on the Tuckerbox and there is a lot of merchandise in there, our pantry items are under the ‘Annie’s Pantry’ label.”
The ‘Annie’s Pantry’ items have all been sourced from within a 150km radius, including the Riverina, Hilltops, Snowy Valleys or Yass Valley regions.
“Our olive oil comes from two farms in Yass and Cowra but then processed in Cowra, our jams and sauces are made in the Riverina, we’ve got a range of dog treats and accessories, handmade artisanal soaps from Griffith, stuff from Batlow and Gundagai honey, so our focus is wherever possible as regional as we can stay, because the Riverina is the food bowl of Australia, so if we can source it in the area, we are,” Nicole said.
The Dog on the Tuckerbox Kiosk and Farm Shop also has a state-of-the-art gelato machine, where they make fresh gelato on site.
“There isn’t anywhere else in the area that you can get gelato, and ours is freshly made onsite.”
“We also have an Australian coffee brand out of Melbourne called St Ali who so far we have received overwhelmingly positive reviews on, so I am pretty happy about that,” Nicole said.
They have also rebranded and commercialised The Dog on the Tuckerbox to make it more modern. “All our hats, keyrings, t-shirts, stubby holders and stock are branded with the new Dog on the Tuckerbox logo. We trademarked a commercial logo which is a cool representation of the actual statue, it just makes it a bit more modern looking,” said Nicole.
The new development precinct will be called Snake Gully Station, as it will look like an old station, which will include several buildings like an old station would have looked like back in the day.
“We didn’t want the Dog on the Tuckerbox to lie dormant while we are building the new buildings, so this was to keep visitors coming, stopping and educating the travellers about the Dog on the Tuckerbox, and keeping traditions alive for those who are used to stopping every time they come through,” Nicole said.
“We are very excited about showcasing the Dog on the Tuckerbox. There were a few poor reviews over the last little while in general, but we’ve done some new garden beds, plus some new outdoor tables coming – we’ve just prettied everything up and we think it is a far better representation of what is a national icon,” Nicole said.
Opening hours of the Kiosk and Farm Shop are Thursdays – Mondays, 9-4pm.
– Emily Flint
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