The Liberty Road House in Moruya turns One this week. Power FM were on location this morning as visitors and locals called in to pick up give-aways and to offer their best wishes.
And what a year it has been. First the bushfires, followed by the emptiness of the streets devoid of summer trade that morphed into Covid that saw the State in a travel lockdown. But the team at Liberty pressed on with their new enterprise and have settled into the Moruya community as they set out to do when they opened the new roadhouse just north of the Moruya Bridge. The Beagle caught up with owners, Swaroop and Sue, to learn more of the vision the owners had of the roadhouse. "We didn't want to just sell petrol. We knew that Moruya deserved a more competitive market and, thanks to the wide support of our customers, we have been able to deliver the prices we offer". "But we wanted to be more than that. We have seen many road houses across Australia and recognised the uniform need to be accessible to the essential needs of travellers. If this means trading until midnight in summer to provide that service then that is what we must do. "But people don't just need petrol. They need food. And they want food from breakfast to well past dinner time. We have so many trades people come in first thing in the morning to fill up for the day. They pick up breakfast and a coffee and are ready for the day. "Our shop stocks bait and tackle and it is not unusual to have visitors call in on their way to an early morning fish. We are learning more of their needs and improving our stocks all the time". "You would be surprised how busy we are somedays from 5am opening". "While our menu caters for all the typical road house favourites we have added to it our Indian takeaway options including authentic Hyderabadi chicken biryani ". "The decision to add Indian food to the menu was driven by our customers asking if we could provide a range of their favourites. The family members come from Hyderabad which is known the world over for its Biriyani. Our Biriyani is an enjoyable but complex a dish to make for the cafe. We also have a range of other curry favourites as takeaways that our many customers enjoy. "It gives us a sense of pride to be able to offer Indian cuisine that celebrates our heritage. The feedback has been wonderful". "It is also our pleasure to be able to offer hot food options to our customers after 8pm when everything else is usually closed. Everybody comes in. We have nurses, truck drivers, mums and dads with children in pajamas. It is a family atmosphere that we really enjoy". "The warmth of the local community has also helped us cope with 2020 that has been hard for so many we meet. "To celebrate our One Year anniversary on December 4th and 5th we will be giving all our meal customers a ticket to be in the draw for vouchers".
