LAHARUM business Mount Zero Olives was one of many affected by the Grampians bushfires in 2014. CARLY WERNER speaks to the Seymours about how things have progressed since.
MOUNT Zero Olives is branching into new territory.
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Grove owners Neil and Jane Seymour bought their little piece of paradise on the northern edge of the Grampians National Park in 1993.
The family’s first commercially sold olives and olive oil were produced in 1996.
The Seymours have experienced a lot in the past 20 years, including three bushfires, the most recent in January 2014.
Mr Seymour said the 2014 fire had several implications for the family’s business.
“The fire damaged part of our farm, so we had to work on the affected trees, prune them and get them to recover,” he said.
“Fortunately a small area was affected, and we didn’t lose any infrastructure.
“But the fire did mean we had to close our Millstone Cafe after 15 years.
“All the roads and trails in the national park were closed after the fire, so the customer base wasn’t there anymore.
“We were quite an iconic destination, and people have many memories of the cafe over the years.
“We continue to have visitors with the expectation that the cafe and shop are open, more than two years after the fire.
“So we had to change direction a bit with the cafe closing. But we’re pretty resilient.”
As the saying goes, when one door closes, another one opens.
For the Seymours, that new door has led to establishing accommodation at the grove.
“The cafe building has been 80 per cent converted, and we’ll finish that in the next two or three weeks,” he said.
“We’ve made it into a little apartment, a self-contained unit.
“We’ve also added some new products to our line.”
The business has also extended its profile, with a venture with Australian airline Qantas.
The Seymour’s son Richard, Mount Zero Olives’ general manager, said the business supplied produce for the airline’s online sales site epiQure.
“Formerly the site was just for wine sales, where people could pay using cash or frequent flier points,” he said.
“They’ve just launched food to go alongside that, and we were one of the first suppliers to come on board, which we’re really excited about.
“They pretty much stock our full range, including olive oil, olive leaf tea, and salt.”
Mr Seymour hopes the relationship will develop further.
“We hope to supply produce for the Qantas lounges, and maybe even one day have our products on-board their aircrafts,” he said.
