Glebe business owners say upgrade forced them to sell

BY DHEEPTHI NAMASIVAYAM

Struggling Glebe Point Road businesses have blamed the upgrade for their staggering losses, which they say have forced some owners to sell.
But The Glebe Chamber of Commerce, which has worked with council to help local businesses during the upgrade, said the closures were coincidental.
Ryan Yoon, owner of Cafe Rolling Stones has run his business for just five months. He told The City News he has considered selling due to the losses sustained during the upgrade.
‘As a new business owner, timing is very important ‘ I am worried about literally running out of money,’ Mr Yoon said.
‘I expected sales to go down a bit, but it has been a dramatic reduction,’ he added, noting that the café currently makes 20% of the profits he used to make.
Another cafe owner said he has been trying to sell his business for seven months, but no buyer is prepared to take over the business in the midst of the upgrade.
‘If the spare change dropped out of your pocket, you’d abort the café, that’s how the situation is,’ the owner added.
But Paul Angell, president of the Glebe Chamber of Commerce said any closures were part of the ‘normal ebb and flow of business.’ He added that only a few businesses have closed down and for some, this is only temporary.
‘[Their closures] means they’re going to reopen afterwards [upgrade],’ Mr Angell said.
‘Usually there’s other factors involved,’ he added. ‘Business owners had trouble with the economy before the upgrade ‘ that’s why we needed it in the first place.’
But the café owner said: ‘There are a lot of empty buildings in Glebe and two years ago they weren’t empty.’
A spokesperson from the City of Sydney council said various measures were introduced to help embattled businesses during the upgrade, including waiving footway licence feeds, regular communication about progress and a system of chalk signboards displaying specials.
‘Work has been undertaken with extensive consultation with the community and shop owners to ensure it is completed as quickly as possible and limiting the impact on businesses,’ the spokesperson added.
However Maureen Cahill, owner of the Glass Artists Gallery said businesses face greater worries. She had to lay off her staff because she simply couldn’t afford them anymore.
‘I’m trying to hang on but I don’t want the business to look like it’s not going well,’ she added.
Mr Angell said he did not deny that times are tough for Glebe businesses. ‘But we’ve been telling them for months to prepare for this upgrade,’ he added. ‘I’m sure they know by and large that businesses will be better off after the upgrade.’
Mr Yoon suggested that if work can be avoided on the weekends, then businesses would be able to attract clientele on Saturdays and Sundays.
Despite their differences however, the Chamber and local business owners agreed on one point: Glebe businesses need customers to support local businesses during the upgrade.
‘If they can make an effort to walk over the rubble to find shops [this will help Glebe businesses],’ Mr Angell said.