Bendigo's Debbie's Deli shutting up shop after 28 years

Owners Debbie and David Vaughan will say good-bye to customers on November 13 after deciding the time was right to sell.

"We put our heart and soul into it so I think we've done the best we possibly can," Mrs Vaughan said. "It's time to move on after that long. We need a break."

The cafe first started life as the Arnold Street Milk Bar, then Debbie's Milk Bar, before it became Debbie's Deli.

While working 12-hour days, five days a week, the couple made life-long friends and raised a family.

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"At the start, we lived behind the shop with our three small kids," Mrs Vaughan said. "Our youngest is nearly 29 so we've been here since she was a baby.

"The kids know no different. They went to school around here and they had their birthdays here."

The Vaughan's have seen a lot of change in Bendigo in the past 28 years. The roads and buildings have moved with the times, as has the way people eat.

"Your normal pie, pastie, and sausage roll days are virtually gone," Mrs Vaughan said. "Now everyone has dietary requirements and a lot of people want to eat healthier, which is good.

"You just keep adjusting over the years and coming up with different ideas."

Business has also fluctuated over the years.

"It was very busy when the old hospital was running," Mr Vaughan said. "Since they've changed over, we still get a lot of hospital staff coming in but probably not so much the public.

"There are also more cafes in the vicinity now, which has eaten into the profit and turnover. But we've managed to stay afloat."

Despite all of that change, Mr Vaughan said there were still some constants in life - Mrs Vaughan's famous slices and the AFL.

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"We know people by their football teams," Mr Vaughan said. "So you might not see a customer for a couple of months, and then all of a sudden one of our teams lose to their team and they'll come in for some banter.

"We have a lot of fun here and a lot of joy. There have been some sad times when people have passed away or moved on. But we've had some customers who have been with us the whole way through."

After years of working long hours, Mrs Vaughan said some time off would be nice. But she said the couple would not be keeping idle for long.

"We want to start living life before we get too old," she laughed. "We'll probably have a decent break for a while, and then we'll probably go and work a couple of days somewhere.

"I don't imagine sitting still because we've never sat still. We've never not worked."

But Mrs Vaughan said there would be time to enjoy the little pleasures in life like travelling.

"I intend to do some cooking in Tuscany," she said. "So that will definitely be on the bucket list to do."

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