xx Pentland regains a business

Pentland locals Yvonne and Bill Schaefer have refurbished and reopened The Servo in the town, saying it was something they wanted to do for locals as much as themselves.

For locals who've had to drive either 110 kilometres east to Charters Towers or 150 kilometres west to Hughenden to fuel up their vehicles, the reopening has been supported wholeheartedly.

"We opened on April 8 and the numbers through the door since then have exceeded all expectations," Ms Schaefer said. "We had no expectations really - we weren't sure what to expect."

At present they're serving around 40 customers a day.

The fuel and food stop closed down during the COVID pandemic and had only been open intermittently once regulations eased.

"We took over at the beginning of February, gutted the inside and started again," Ms Schaefer said.

"We're happy how it's turned out.

"At the moment we're only serving pre-prepared meals, while we wait for licencing to go through council, but there's a good selection of food, and always coffee."

The Schaefers own country near Pentland and so Ms Schaefer works there three days a week, employing a local for the other four days, ensuring the business is open every day between 7am and 5pm.

Explaining how she took the business on, Ms Schaefer said she'd been a 'dormie' at a boarding school in Charters Towers for a while before returning home.

"I extended my garden but my husband said I couldn't extend it further, and I like to be busy," she said. "This was needed for the town and it was something I thought I'd enjoy doing."