Prospect Road vacant shops spark concern as eighth business shuts doors
Prospect Road faces an unprecedented wave of business closures with eight vacant buildings and no timeline for when they'll reopen.
What is meant to be the prosperous street of Prospect Road is marred with eight empty buildings, with no projection of when they are going to be filled.
Which for Muratti Cakes owner, Jimmy Parris is “surprising” as Prospect Road is a “fantastic place to run a business”.
“I find Prospect is a fantastic location with a lot of good opportunities for people, that are business opportunities. It’s hard to say otherwise why those shops have remained empty for so long,” he said.
The unusual series of closures on the strip comes after popular Mekko Market and Cafe shut their doors, adding to the total tally of eight empty buildings.
“They are very upset, a lot of them have been crying and I’ve been crying with them so it’s very, very sad news,” co-owner of Mekko Market and Cafe Irene Kollanus, said.
“It seems so many are closing, we had a florist close and a couple clothes shops close, it seems so many are leaving,” Owner of Petite Beauty and Co Lena Tang said.
Mr. Parris, a local to the area, has been at Muratti Cakes since 1999 and became sole owner in 2021, where he’s seen Prospect Road change from a street to drive through, into a “destination” and for businesses to find success in the busy precinct, they need to set themselves apart.
“Every person that’s got a business has got to make sure that they’re doing their best to make their business a desirable place to come, offering an excellent product with great service at a competitive price,” he said.
“It’s very expensive to run a business, or live, in general. Your cost of running the business, electricity, wages, superannuation, whatever you’re buying to then sell on has gone up.”
The string of business closures includes two across the road from Muratti Cakes, one being Sideways Liquor Co. an offspring of The Prospect Hotel and Cellars.
They closed for renovations on 3 March and are now permanently closed.
Next to it, another building, left vacated, following a fire which tore through four businesses on 10 May.
A couple doors down, another empty building, Indian Restaurant, Delhi Club, who reportedly closed their doors just over a month ago.
Along with those are a couple buildings along the road that are left vacant, which Mr. Parris is hoping will be filled with successful businesses.
“We’ve been really happy to see new businesses opening up with new fit outs and create a real place for people to want to come,” he said.
