The winding road to Warmun Roadhouse

Farewell to Lisa Barry, manager of Warmun Roadhouse for 2.5 years! She’s off on new adventures, utilising her extensive retail skills that have seen her work all over the country…

Warmun Roadhouse is located on the Great Northern Highway in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia. The Giji people are the traditional owners of this area, which draws many visitors keen to explore the World Heritage-listed Bungle Bungle Range.

Although Lisa had never managed a roadhouse before, she had 25 years’ experience in retail working in Coles on the East Coast. She spent the last three of those years travelling in her caravan and working at different Coles locations around the country.

One of Lisa’s favourite things about the role was working with the local community and learning about their culture. She also loved hearing other road-tripping tales and sharing her own touring tips.

Lisa managed a staff of 9 who serviced the fuel station, dining room, takeaway, motel rooms, caravan sites and small grocery store.  They trade 7 days a week, from 7 am – 7 pm.

The biggest challenge in the role was the constant recruiting required to fill all the positions needed to keep the roadhouse running. Maintaining stock levels throughout both the wet season and high season can also be problematic and takes forward planning.

You’ve got to think straight and have common sense.

– Lisa Barry

“Lisa displayed great planning and delegation skills, and set her team up for success, especially during the busy dry season months,” said Operations Manager Matt Pawelski.

As the sole manager, Lisa credits her organisation skills as the key reason she thrived in a role that previously required two co-managers.

“The most important thing for a good remote store manager is being organised and prepared. You’ve got to think straight and have common sense, because you never know what’s going to happen from one day to the next,” says Lisa.

In her spare time Lisa enjoyed reading a book by the roadhouse’s swimming pool or visiting the closest town of Kununurra, 2 hours away.

Lisa usually divided her 7-weeks of annual between adventuring overseas or visiting her family on the Central Coast of New South Wales.

During he time with Outback Stores, Lisa visited Canada, Alaska, Japan and Tasmania. Next up on her horizon is a cruise to the South Pacific.

Are you interested in being a remote store manager? Outback Stores is currently hiring! Click here for more info.