For much of its modern history, the General Store was predominantly a hardware and rural-supplies business. But as Bunnings grew—and competitors such as Masters came and went—it became harder for a small country Store to compete on range and price.

Ash Wednesday tested the Store’s ability to rebuild. This new challenge tested its ability to reinvent itself.

After travelling around Australia as The Todoing Family on YouTube, JD and Steph Davey decided home was where they wanted to build their future. Together with their boys—Jed, Alex and Harry—they purchased the General Store after it had spent five years on the market.

Already connected through the local school, Auskick, Scouts and the school garden club, they wanted to restore the Store as a community hub, add a café and create somewhere locals would gather every day.

The Daveys opened on 1 April 2020—April Fools’ Day and right at the beginning of COVID-19. New challenges arrived immediately, but the family adapted quickly as the community’s needs changed.

What began as a family operation grew within a year into a small team of locals supplying Upper Beaconsfield and the surrounding Hills and foothills.

As the Store found its feet, the team kept growing. The orange shirts became a familiar sight—and a sign of local jobs being created close to home.

An opportunity in the building across the road—the same building that survived Ash Wednesday—gave the business room to serve the community in new ways and create more local jobs.

Over the Road was born in Upper Beaconsfield, then expanded into Emerald and Gembrook. Today, the wider business employs more than 40 people across its local communities.