Roundtable: How to bring life back into Adelaide’s CBD

Adelaide bar owner Oliver Brown is one attendee at The Advertiser’s hospitality roundtable on Monday, which will discuss ways to bring the CBD back to life.

Adelaide’s festival season has come just in time for hospitality business owner Oliver Brown.

After Covid’s Omicron variant severely affected trading over Christmas and into the new year, venues in the CBD are booming again thanks to the Fringe and Adelaide Festival.

Mr Brown, who owns NOLA Adelaide, The Stag Public House and Yiasou George in the East End, said the situation was “pretty dire” in January, with business in the city down by up to 85 per cent.

“Things were starting to look promising and then it was not-so-promising with Omicron. It felt like the straw that broke the camel’s back for a lot of people,” he said.

Hospitality business owner Oliver Brown, at his bar Nola Adelaide, ahead of Monday’s roundtable on the future of the CBD. Picture: Keryn Stevens

“But it’s been a huge lift now, and it’s almost like a regular Fringe so far.”

Mr Brown, 31, will join fellow hospitality operators, politicians and business leaders at The Advertiser’s latest Round Table today, discussing how to bring life back into the CBD.

Adelaide MP Rachel Sanderson will be among the roundtable’s participants. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

He said it’s been a difficult couple of years due to the pandemic but there was “light at the end of the tunnel”.

“For me it’s about moving forward and untying industries’ hands and letting people be creative,” he said.

“With adversity comes opportunity, too, so I think that this is a great opportunity to get rid of some red tape and allow business to start being more creative to draw people back in.

“Adelaide being named Australia’s most liveable city, and one of the most liveable cities in the world last year, shows how strong and how good a place this city can be.”

Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor, Adelaide MP Rachel Sanderson, Labor candidate for Adelaide Lucy Hood and Business SA chair Nikki Govan will be among those taking part in the forum in The Advertiser’s offices.

See advertiser.com.au and Tuesday’s The Advertiser for the outcome of what promises to be a lively discussion.