Former Red Rooster owners Steve Willis and his wife Jo have sold more than half a million pieces of chicken to the Kiama community over the past 16 years.

Last month the pair, along with their son Grady, who has worked at the store since he was 12, handed over the keys to the new owners with little fanfare.

“We slipped out quietly, kept it low key, we didn’t want to upset the apple cart and wanted the transition to be as smooth as possible for staff,” said Mr Willis, who estimates he and his wife have employed around 200 local Kiama kids, including his now 20 year-old son.

Now all three family members are putting their feet up for a well-earned break before they decide what their next business move will be. But Mr Willis, who is president of the Kiama Leagues Club, is certain they will stay in Kiama.

“We love this community, the 16 years we owned Red Rooster were a big part of our lives. There were a few tears from my wife Jo when we hung up our aprons, but not from me. I’d be happy not to handle another raw chicken again,” he said, chuckling.  

Mr Willis, who grew up in Cootamundra, has had 31 jobs across his working life and ran five businesses with his wife by his side. He was an apprentice mechanic straight out of school, worked on the Cootamundra railways for eight years, and spent some time in the meatworks before leaving at the age of 21. He headed to Bowen to pick mangoes, and worked at a seed farm in Griffith, where machinery would knock seed pods from plants and he would sort through the piles and remove the twigs and leaves.

“It was a terrible bloody job,” he recalls. But Mr Willis was a hard worker, a trait that stood him in good stead when he moved to Milperra, then Wollongong to manage pubs.

He met his wife Jo, a Barrack Heights local, in Wollongong and the pair opened the first of many hospitality businesses in inner city Sydney. One was a sandwich shop near Central Railway Station during the Sydney Olympics. To say it was busy was an understatement. 

The couple moved to Kiama for a seachange and took over the Kiama Red Rooster store when Grady was four. For the next 16 years they became stalwarts of the Kiama community, feeding hordes of hungry families and tourists alike. It was the longest time Mr Willis stayed in one job.

“Red Rooster was a whole different kettle of fish for us,” he said. “The business, which opened more than 35 years ago, was one of only a few fast food outlets in Kiama. 

“When we took the shop on, my son was a year away from starting kindy,” Mr Willis recalls. “One of the reasons we bought it was so that one of us could be home before he went to school and the other when he came home from school.” 

The days were long and the couple did everything from cleaning drains, prepping chicken, managing staff and mopping floors. By the time their son Grady was a teen he was working alongside his parents, and never missed a day of work in the six years he helped out, testament to the work ethic instilled in him by his parents.

“Two of my son’s greatest achievements is that he’s never missed a day of work or a day of school,” said Mr Willis. “He went to Kiama High School for six years and had 100 per cent attendance. Only a handful of kids before him have achieved that. His number one trait is grit and I’m very proud of him, and all of the other young people we have worked with over the years.

“One of the most rewarding parts of this job has been watching staff grow from 13 year-old kids to young adults. We’ve employed several sets of siblings over years, been to two weddings of staff we employed as teens and proudly watched young people move on to roles serving in Afghanistan, as teachers and electrical engineers.

“We just wanted to take this opportunity to say a really big thank you to the Kiama community who supported us over the years. It’s a great community and so many of the kids who grew up here have worked for us.”