Salt Room Cafe in Sunbury wins New and Emerging Small Business gong at Hume Business Awards
HARLEY Collier discovered the benefits of salt therapy after a brush with a serious bout of pneumonia three years ago.
The then-gardening franchisee believes cleaning a gutter and inhaling dry powdered bird faeces was the culprit for a condition which in his words was so serious that “it was touch and go whether I’d make it”.
“I had pneumonia on the inside of my lungs and pleurisy outside of them and I was in a pretty dire situation in hospital,” he said.
“I needed a lot of antibiotics to get on top of things.
“I came out of hospital only feeling about 70 per cent and I started looking at ways to treat it, so I went to Queensland where I had family and got on the salt therapy and three weeks later I was good as gold and feeling 100 per cent.”
Mr Collier has continued to research the treatment and has found the therapy is useful in both respiratory and skin conditions.
It prompted him to open the Salt Room Cafe in Phillip Drive, Sunbury, in June, a venture that has just landed him the New and Emerging Small Business gong at the recent Hume Business Awards.
To fit out the former beauty shop, which was then operated by his wife, Megan, Mr Collier bought a $10,000 machine to pump the salt air into a treatment room, which consists of four massage chairs.
“The real magic is pumping through the salt air and some clients have been asleep by the time they finish their hour in the chair,” he said.
“People get to sit back and read a book and relax.”
Mr Collier said the feel of the salt experience was like the rejuvenation of a visit to the beach.
He also runs a small cafe from the premises which is proving popular with Sunbury residents, including Killara Primary School teachers and parents.
Several other Sunbury businesses won or were nominated at the council’s annual awards.
McMahon Osborne Group took out the Professional Services category and was nominated in the Industry, Education and Engagement award, while TJM Sunbury was named winner of the Retail section and gained a nomination in the Customer Service category.
Horne Street Chiropractic Centre took home the Customer Service award, while Diggers Rest companies Animal Land and Rockleigh Tours, as well as Raine and Horne Sunbury, were other nominees.
Major award winners were Emilio De Lorso from Campbellfield’s Della Rosa Fresh Foods, who was named best Business Leader, while Business of the Year went to Breathometer Corporation from Tullamarine.
The Hume Business Awards were held on October 22 at Park Royal Melbourne Airport.
Details:hume.vic.gov.au
FULL LIST:
Business of the year, manufacturing — small
Breathometer Corporation, Tullamarine
Business Leader
Emilio De Lorso, Della Rosa Fresh Foods, Campbellfield
Cafe and restaurants
Zin Viet Vietnamese Street Food, Craigieburn
Customer service
Horne Street Chiropractic Centre, Sunbury
Export
Della Rosa Fresh Foods, Campbellfield
Human resources
Cummins South Pacific, Campbellfield
Industry education engagement
NDZ Industries, Campbellfield
Innovation and enterprise
Kitchen Innovations, Campbellfield
Manufacturing — large
Concept Caravans, Campbellfield
New and emerging small business
Salt Room Cafe, Sunbury
Professional services
McMahon Osborne Group, Sunbury
Retail
TJM Sunbury
Small business
Essential Imaging, Tullamarine
Sustainability
ecoMaster, Tullamarine
Tourism and hospitality
Mantra Tullamarine Hotel
Source: Herald Sun / Sunbury Leader, Barry Kennedy, 4th November 2015
Originally published as: Salt Room Cafe in Sunbury wins New and Emerging Small Business gong at Hume Business Awards
