Community
6 December, 2024
New faces arriving at Banana Splits
CHILDCARE centre Banana Splits will be seeing a changing of the guard as new owners take over the centre over the next few months.
Outgoing owner-operator Karin Vaughan will be stepping back while assisting new owners Allen Zhang and Bella He over a three- to six- month transition period.
Ms Vaughan said she is feeling “happy and comfortable” about the new owners.
“I’ve had Banana Splits for almost 20 years, and I just decided it was time for me to step back and sell the business and have someone young and new come in,” she said.
“They seem like a really nice young couple and they’ve got two young children.
It’s how I started – we were a young family just having our children, so it’s kinda like the cycle going around.
“It’s a new family coming in who want the same kind of family atmosphere and family environment.
“Their values align with my values, and it’s nice for the community to have new owners come in who want to keep that family environment going.”
Mr Zhang said Ms He and himself were “beyond excited” to be taking over Banana Splits, having felt a connection their first arrival at the centre.
“It’s been a long time coming for us – we’ve been looking for the right centre for almost two years now,” he said.
“We have seen countless centres over the last two years, and the moment I stepped in – this would be the middle of last year – I knew this place was the right one for us.
“It’s a huge commitment, us being from Melbourne moving down to Camperdown and settling down here, but we’ve had a discussion as a family and we think we’ve made the right choice coming down here
“We love the town and the people, and the team as well, and we’re more than thrilled to be a part of this community here.”
All current staff will continue at Banana Splits, who Mr Zhang said was one of his favourite things about the childcare centre.
“Karin has left us a wonderful team of staff, and the families and children as well,” he said.
“Just being here and meeting everyone for the second time, we’re so impressed with how Karin is doing things and we just hope we can carry the torch and carry on the legacy.
“At the moment, we just want to keep everything the same.
“We’ll be available for the kids, for the families and for the team as well, and any recommendations and suggestions they make we’ll take on board and make that happened.
“For the time being, we want to have a few months to get our head around things and to get everything located first before we make any changes.”
Ms He said she and Mr Zhang are feeling “very confident” about their future at Banana Splits.
“The first time we met the staff, we were very nervous,” she said.
“But, when we talk to them, they’re an awesome team – they’re so nice, they’re very helpful because we’re new here.
“Monday was the first day we met parents – the community is super welcoming.
“The relationship between staff, families and children is beautiful.”
Read More: Camperdown