All-clear for Mocha Mecca after Eighth Street building scare

MOCHA Mecca in Mildura’s Eighth Street is set to reopen its doors on Wednesday morning, after a sudden request to vacate was issued on Friday afternoon.

• Building alert closes three Eighth Street businesses

Adjacent Eighth Street businesses Flight Centre and the proposed Bendigo Bank building were also issued the notice.

Mocha Mecca owner Stuart Garsed said the vacation request was issued by the landlord as a safety precaution, following an issue with the building’s foundation.

“I can only speak for my shop but we had the floor drop in certain sections that to my understanding shouldn’t have happened under normal circumstances,” he said.

“It was really just a safety precaution until we could be completely confident that there was no danger.”

An inspection took place on Tuesday by building engineers, who gave Mr Garsed the all-clear to resume trade from 7am on Wednesday.

He said while he was sorry for the inconvenience, it was better for the wellbeing of his staff and customers to take the time to make sure there was no immediate danger in the building.

“We were asked to temporarily vacate for the safety of customers and staff because it’s better to be safe than sorry when dealing with a situation such as this.”