On July 1st this year Andy and Sue Cumming finally handed over the keys and the reins to the Sandy Point General Store after 12 years of running a successful business and more recently navigating all things Covid.

The new owner is Tommo, a local of sorts to Sandy Point. Tommo’s father Eric bought “a block” down at Sandy Point in 1957 and newlyweds Eric and Maureen used to come down and camp and sometimes caravan down on their block. Tommo first appeared down here in the late 1960s on family holidays and was a regular on the beach, at the old A-frame surf club and down at the inlet in the 70s and early 80s. In 1987 Tommo purchased his own “block” and built the house he calls his beach house in the mid-1990s. Since the early 2000s Tommo has been living and working overseas in various mining operations, coming back to Australia once or twice a year to catch up with family and friends and for the Richmond Grand Finals.

Due to Covid, Tommo has found himself working in Australia and living and working between Sandy Point, Sale and the company corporate office in West Perth. The “For Sale” sign in the front window of Andy and Sue’s store kept drawing him back to having the odd discussion with Andy about a sale. A deal was finally struck, and Tommo would eventually take on the successful business Andy and Sue had built up over many years. One small issue was who could manage the business if Tommo went back overseas? As luck would have it the rumour mill at Sandy Point was off and running and Tommo’s neighbour Paul Anthony asked if indeed the rumour was true. The conversation went something like this:

Hey Tommo is it true you’re taking over the store?
Yep
Are you quitting your overseas job?
Yeahh, nahhh, heading back as soon as the window opens.
Do you want a manager?
Who?
Me
What do you know about running a shop?
Nothing, what do you know?
Nothing
Well what can go wrong then?

That was it, Tommo and Paul shook hands over the fence and the deal was done. So, who is Paul Anthony you ask? Paul turned 50 in November last year and, after 33 years working in financial services and IT consultancy, decided to quit the corporate world and retire to his “happy place”... his house (now permanent home) in Sandy Point. Paul spent a month or so working with Andy and Sue to understand how a general store operates. Invaluable time! The training wheels came off in mid-July and Paul got to work on his sea-change career which meant putting his golf on hold as he manages all things Covid and attends to those tweaks in the business model.

The continued support from Andy and Sue has been greatly appreciated by both Tommo and Paul has asked this be acknowledged. They are both also hugely indebted to Millie and Gerrie for staying on and continuing to be the heart and soul of the store. Tommo and Paul both agree that the store was run well and Andy and Sue had a good business model. They both agreed to build on the previous 12 years and make small tweaks to see what works and what doesn’t. They both agreed that although Tommo’s name is above the door and Paul is running the store the store belongs to the community.

To that end they would both like to say thanks for your continued support, they welcome ideas on what you might like to see in the store, they want to know how the business might be able to assist community groups and finally they want to say how much they appreciate your Covid compliance. The Worksafe inspectors were quite impressed with the level of compliance, the Covid safe plan and the record keeping and management.

There’s a Facebook page that Tommo never sees (that’s a whole other story), and a website is in the making but at the end of the day its all about you, our loyal customers who have, and continue to make the business what it is.

Finally Tommo and Paul would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land; the Bratowooloong people of the Gurnai nation. They pay respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

See you sometime soon.

Tommo, Paul, Gerrie, Millie and the entire team at Sandy Point General Store