New owners at Yandina Feed Barn

From left, former owner, Lyle Ravenscroft, with new owners Rob, Cara and daughter Macie Ceccato (holding Frankie the pup) and employee Nancy Cordwell.

Business Writeup by Tanya Outridge

On September 30, the much loved Yandina Feed Barn changed hands from long time owners Lyle and Andree Ravencroft to Yandina Creeks locals, Rob and Cara Ceccato.

Although the couple have both enjoyed professional careers in health and management, the transition could not have been more natural, Cara explained.

“Rob is a Physiotherapist by trade and I am a registered nurse,” she said.

“For years we lived in Brisbane and Rob’s role as a General Manager for a large Australian Allied Health company, and my career as a Business Development manager for a medical device company saw us doing a lot of travel and spending a lot of time away from home. We had arrived at a point where we just wanted to spend more time with our daughter, at home. And I guess, like many people, we really felt the need to slow down and immerse ourselves in not only our family, but the beautiful community here as well.

“There was an awesome produce store in Brisbane that we really loved and we found ourselves thinking that we would love to do something similar. When this business came up for sale, it was a no-brainer to go for it.”

Rob grew up in the area, attending Nambour Christian College, and his family still have a cane farm at Bli Bli. 

“I also grew up in the area, and we have our horse agistment property at Yandina Creek complete with horses, mini goats, sheep and chickens,” said Cara.

“It is so exciting to be business owners again, particularly in such a well loved and respected family business.”

Lyle and long term staffer, Nancy Cordwell, will be staying on at the Feed Barn.

“We are not letting them go!,” Cara laughed. “We are pretty much kidnapping them.”

The couple do not have any plans for drastic change to the business, and will spend time now gathering feedback from customers.

“Our only immediate plan is for a little ‘facelift’ out the front, but that is about it,” Cara said. “We figure if it isn’t broken, there’s no need to fix it.”

• Yandina Feed Barn is at 13 Farrell Street Yandina and is open Monday-Friday from 8am to 5:30pm, Saturday from 7am to 12pm and closed on Sunday.