When Brindabella Podiatry this week had a party outside its Anketell Street premises to celebrate 15 years in business, even patients who couldn't make it wanted to show their appreciation.
"One of our patients just dropped off six pizzas to say, 'Have a good party'," owner Nicole Heinecke said, with a smile.
"We just have really nice patients."
Balloons and cake were part of the celebrations on Thursday, patients and staff marking the milestone together.
Nicole and fellow podiatrist Kylie Schramm have been there from the very start.
They started working for Caroline Gwilliam Podiatry in Tuggeranong in 2006. Nicole took over the business in 2009 when she changed the name to Brindabella Podiatry. The 15th anniversary was celebrated in National Podiatry Week.
Podiatrist Melanie Green - mum of GWS Giants star Tom Green - joined the practice a few years later and is still a part of the team which now also includes Katie Gillingham, Keely O'Neill and Erin Ritchie.
Nicole and husband Chris Hart have two daughters, Georgie, 13, and Lily, 12, who have grown up with the business.
A lot has happened in 15 years.
"We moved twice and we've done two major commercial renovations in the time and also had two babies," Nicole said.
During the last decade and a half, Brindabella Podiatry has grown from having one treatment room to five as well as an orthotics room. It will also soon have a 3D laser scanner to make 3D printed orthotics.
Over the 15 years, the business has trained more than 20 podiatrists.
Nicole said many people over the years had urged her to expand northside or add more practices, but she wanted to concentrate on the practice they had in the heart of Tuggeranong.
"I just wanted to have one good practice rather than a few mediocre practices so I'm just going to stick with the one good one," she said.
"I just want to maintain good quality. I don't want to be an in-and-out factory kind of a place. I just want to maintain that special connection we have with our patients."
The business has about 15,000 patients on its database.
"But that wasn't everyone who was on paper before we went electronic," Nicole said.
"We get about 180 new patients a month, which is crazy. It's amazing."
The practice opened an in-house Ingrown Toenail Clinic in 2018.
"We do a lot of ingrown toenail surgeries, diabetes assessments, general toenails, corns, callus, planter warts and the sports side of things - orthotics, strengthening and treating injuries. Heel pain is a big one."
Co-worker Kylie Schramm said reaching 15 years as an independent, homegrown business was a big achievement.
"I'm proud of Nicole and all that she has built up - and the team," Kylie said.
"I think [the longevity of the business is] down to Nicole's empathy and her compassion and the way that she treats people. She supports staff, she supports patients. She's very patient focused."
Sue Lockyer has been a patient since 2002, even before Nicole took over in 2006.
"It's friendly, the treatment's great. They give you a say in your treatment options," she said.
And the feeling is mutual.
"The patients are beautiful," Kylie said. "They're supportive, they're kind. We're very lucky."
