Beloved business Classic Shoe Repairs issued with eviction notice as Covid pandemic continues to hurt city traders

The owner of a beloved CBD business says it is on the brink of collapse because of rental stress, and is calling on the government to support city traders by subsidising rent.

The owner of a beloved CBD shoe repairer is shaking in his boots, saying rental stress has the business teetering on the brink of collapse.

Massimo Sassi’s predicament at Classic Shoe Repairs on Grenfell St has sparked a call for the government to help traders by subsidising rent until customers return to the city.

Mr Sassi has owned the prominent store since 1974 but has been handed a notice demanding he pay rental arrears within 14 days – or face eviction.

He said he has been unable to meet the payments, which were set when he agreed to a five-year lease before the pandemic downturn.

“The Covid pandemic is something I have never seen before in the city,” he said.

Classic Shoe Repairs proprietor Massimo Sassi with his wife Carmel in their store in Grenfell St. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

“The Property Council says 75-85 per cent of the office space is leased, so why are we not busy? Because people are still working from home two to four days a week, which drastically reduces the foot traffic in the CBD.”

In a speech to state parliament’s upper house, Labor MLC Russell Wortley explained Mr Sassi’s plight and called on the government to step in with more support.

“One of the genuine, hardworking characters of our city, Massimo is desperate for some support after receiving a notice of eviction from his landlord, who is still charging pre-Covid rents,” Mr Wortley said.

“This came while he and the tenants of other small businesses have been denied customers because of lockdowns and a major change in the way we work.”

Mr Wortley said many leases were signed before the pandemic hit, at rates that businesses could no longer afford.

He said trade had fallen and rental rates had to be lowered to keep in line with the “new normal” and ensure the burden was shared by both landlord and tenant.

“This needs to happen to keep tenants above the poverty line so they can continue trading – the alternative is watching the CBD become a ghost town,” he said.

“I call upon the Treasurer to provide rent relief and introduce measures that would ensure landlords reduce rents to those small businesses that can show they have had a downturn in income during the pandemic.

“I ask that we subsidise their rents until the time comes when their trade returns to something like it was a couple of years ago – or at least until they can renegotiate new leases with their landlords, who have to take some of the load.”

Mr Wortley said the business owners were relying on help to ensure they survived, as was the city of Adelaide, which would “be a poorer place without them”.

Treasurer Rob Lucas ruled out subsidising CBD rent, but said Mr Sassi’s business had already received about $27,000 in support grants.

“The taxpayers have already provided significant assistance,” he said.

The government has also introduced initiatives to encourage workers to return to the city, including the FOMO Fridays program, which concluded last week.

“We encouraged our own public servants back to the office as quickly as almost any government,” Mr Lucas said.

“The government has done a lot in relation to recognising the problems that CBD traders have had.”