"It was so out of the blue and I was was so taken aback," Minka Sverdrupsen, owner of Mor Mors Cafe in Merimbula said after Paul McCooey of Splash Internet walked into her cafe and said he was going to give her some money to help.
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She said it had given her a bit more security for extra staff hours.
Read more: 'We just want to lead by example'
"The hardest part is making sure I can pay the staff. Seeing that generosity lifted my spirits. It was wonderful," Minka said.
Minka opened the door at the side of Mor Mors showing a separate space that was to be "Mor Mors 2.0" but the plans must now be put on hold as Minka like so many other businesses wrestles with the ecomonic impact of the bushfires and lack of tourists.
The hardest part is making sure I can pay the staff.
- Mor Mors Cafe owner Minka Sverdrupsen
She still has plans to work with From Little Things, the community garden project and sell fruit and vegetable boxes. She had a tester box in her fridge to see how the produce would fare.
Minka said it was really important to keep money in the area.
It was something that seems to be happening already with many people making conscious decisions about spending on an extra coffee, going out to a local business for dinner and ensuring support for local food retailers.
David Swan at Merimbula Fresh Seafood has been heartened by the number of people who have come into his shop to buy more or different fish from their ususal choices in order to support him.
"I've had people coming in from Pambula and it makes me feel a bit better," he said.
It provides a little comfort after some devastating losses.
"New Year's Eve is one of my biggest days of the year. You prepare for it and I don't take orders, I just load up so that no one misses out. It's a big outlay and I lost quite a bit," he said.
There were 200 dozen oysters that had to go into the bin because "they just ran out of time" along with 100kg of prawns.
"We were able to get a bit to Bega but I just didn't expect three days of Armageddon," David said.
He said when Paul McCooy came into the shop he nearly cried. Like many in the town David has felt the severe economic impact of the bushfires when tourists were told to leave.
"It was very uplifting. In tragedy there are good things that come out of it. What Paul's done is right down on the coal face. He's a bloody legend," David said.
"I've just got to get a bit of cash flow back because fresh fish waits for no one," he added.