People power saves Sakeena's Cafe at Cooleman Court from closure

Mirvac Retail, the owner of the Weston Creek shopping centre, confirmed this week that Sakeena's would continue to trade there, with a new lease signed, understood to be for another seven years.

The cafe owners, the Stavrakis family, had been told to vacate the space by July 3 but its customers were having none of that.

A petition on change.org to save the cafe attracted almost 2400 signatures and many more were collected on hard-copy signatures.

The cafe and Mirvac had been in negotiations since then, including in the courts, but an agreement had now been reached.

A statement from Mirvac Retail to The Canberra Times read: "Cooleman Court and Sakeena's Cafe have been working together to negotiate a new tenancy agreement in response to community feedback and both parties are excited to announce that Sakeena's will remain a tenant within the centre. Sakeena's Cafe and centre management look forward to continuing their longstanding partnership at Cooleman Court".

It was cause for celebration in the cafe with customers relieved and happy the family-run cafe would not be replaced by a franchised outlet.

Sakeena's has been part of Cooleman Court for 16 years but owner, Minas Stavrakis has a more than 30-year association with Cooleman Court, having also owned the local fruit shop for 18 years before selling it to his brother.

Weston Creek resident Ruth Carter said she was a regular customer of the cafe, often with her mother Joan Plunkett.

"We have been coming here for years," Mrs Carter said.

"I was absolutely devastated when I heard it might be closing. Where's the loyalty?

"This is a family business that has been part of the community for all these years. I think it's wonderful the community rallied together to support such a wonderful business."

Joan Esperance of Isaacs said the closure of the cafe would have had a detrimental impact on other businesses in the centre.

"Oh, this is the greatest place," she said. "The food is so fresh. People come here just to eat and they go and do their shopping."

Weston Creek residents "Julie and Barbara" were relieved by the decision.

"We'd be lost if this place wasn't here," Julie said.

Despina Stavrakis and her daughter Maria thanked their customers for standing up for them and for Mirvac for reconsidering its decision.

"After 16 years of effort, we didn't want to just walk away from that," Maria said

The cafe will now be extensively renovated as part of the new agreement.