Molong Stores owner Robbie Carroll closes in February with fears for town's business district

His small town retail business copped a big hit during November's severe flooding with every floorboard still needing to be replaced, a ravaged cellar beneath still resembles a dive pool along with continuing electrical works and daily water extractions.

But while the choice to temporarily close the gates to Molong Stores was due to its extensive water damage, the owner's need to regroup topped a long list of must-do's.

"There's still so much repair work to be done and we haven't heard back from the insurers yet, we could be waiting until the middle of the year for everything to really get sorted and be fixed," Mr Carroll said.

"I'm pretty tough and I'll fight to keep business in our little town going, but I'm not that resilient ... I needed to get away and reset, clear my head.

"We're all really tired."

While Robbie's getaway locations include Sydney, Noosa, Brisbane and then Bali, it's not just about laying around in the sun for him or strictly for self-care purposes.

He'll be busily sourcing new products for the store, liaising with new suppliers, and getting his hands on some other ethically-made goods to stock the shelves.

Although the uncertainties surrounding insurance and the "what ifs" for the future of his and other Bank Street businesses are very much a reality still plaguing the milliner.

"[Opening my shop] was always meant to be a semi-retirement plan, but I've been working six to seven days trying to make up for losses and there's post-flood dramas around the clock, so it's been anything but," Mr Carroll said.

"And now there's the endless list of not knowing what to expect next and when it will happen again; wondering what other businesses are going to do, where they'd go, if others will ever re-open, what we should all do if the end of Bank Street doesn't fully re-open ...

"Local people have been amazing, Molong is the best town on earth in my view, but I also want to run a great business and a really successful one at that."

"I think we were all running on adrenaline for a couple of months and thinking we can do this, and we can, but the reality has set in now and we have to think logically from a business perspective, too."

Mr Carroll says he knows that flood mitigation isn't "one problem with one solution", though he is still desperately hoping for the answers sooner rather than later.

Though with every intention to stick it out and keep "putting in the hard yards" to back Molong's business sector, the possibility of another big hit could prove too much.

"If another flood happens and to that extent, I think that would be me done," he said.

"And that's heart-breaking to say out loud, truly, but it's not worth the financial, physical and mental pain that comes with it.

"We want to push through, we want to fight and we don't want to give up; but we have to fix what's going on because everyone's feeling really hesitant moving forward.

"It's way too much for a little town."

With many businesses in the village either partially operating or still closed entirely, Mr Carroll believes November's severe weather event "knocked the whole town around" to a degree.

And even though it's showed him how much adoration he has for the town, he's finding it hard to "readjust to the new Molong".

He's also fearful of what's to come if flood prevention isn't prioritised.

"People don't fully understand the damage it does when it's contaminated water and if it does happen again, I wonder if it'd be Molong's last straw too; and that's really sad to think about," he said.

"It's taught me that I love that place and I want to stay there and build it up, that it's the best and most supportive community I've ever been in.

"But it's also scared me, that it could happen again so easily, because while I'm determined, I'm completely shattered about it.

"While I'm away for now though, I just want to clear my head."

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