Mrs Oldbucks Pantry wins big at the Australian Small Business Champion Awards

The small-batch store was named as the best specialised retail business in the country at the awards, at the end of April.

The annual award is considered as the Oscars for small businesses.

Mrs Oldbucks Pantry brand custodian Carol Brown, who has more than 46 years of experience in retail, said it was an unexpected win, and a "big night".

"We were beside ourselves," she said.

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It was one of three businesses in Berrima that were nominated for the national award, along with PepperGreen Estate and Gumnut Patisserie.

The patisserie also took home a win, and was named as the best cake shop or patisserie in the nation.

Supporting local businesses and was vital, the brand custodian said.

"Berrima is an incredibly special village and we want to make sure it stays the way it is," she said, and wanted to promote it as a pit-stop for travellers.

Mrs Oldbucks Pantry was one of 22 finalists in the specialised retail category.

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"I got so excited by being a finalist, it makes us realise we have created something special here," Ms Brown said.

It was the first time the business entered the award, which the brand custodian said was the perfect opportunity for her to stop, and reflect on the business' success over the years.

The small business took out the Excellence in Micro Business category at the Illawarra Business Awards in 2022, and Ms Brown was named as the Outstanding Business Person of the Year at the Southern Highlands Local Business Awards in 2021.

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"I've had a successful year, it was a fantastic one for us all," she said.

The accolade is also a testament to the small, but "extraordinary" team, which brings "a piece of the past to a customer".

"I'm the face, but they're the soul and backbone," she said.

Ms Brown purchased the business in 2018, and it has embraced different opportunities and expanded throughout the bushfires and pandemic.

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