This was published 4 years ago
Bianca wanted to open her new store in July. Finally she can
By Rachel Eddie
Bianca Cuzzupi filled the shopfront of her children's clothing store with balloons as she prepared to finally welcome customers on Wednesday after months of COVID-19 restrictions on business.
But, unlike many other retail outlets, her shop in Essendon in Melbourne's north-west isn't reopening. The mother of three is instead opening Rasberry Soda for the first time, after the pandemic ran interference on her career change from teaching.
Bianca Cuzzupi finally opened her new business Rasberry Soda on Wednesday.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
Ms Cuzzupi is one of a number of Melbourne small business owners who started a new venture during lockdown. She bought the business earlier this year and would have opened the store in July if it weren't for COVID-19.
Instead, she took over a lease about two months ago and renovated while she waited for Premier Daniel Andrews to announce that retail could open to customers.
"We had to get it ready for that one day, which we knew would come, we just didn't know when," Ms Cuzzupi said.
"It's so hard when you're working towards a goal, but you don't know when that time is going to come ... There were days where I thought, I'm a teacher by trade, do I just go back to teaching?"
After a delivery of summer clothes arrived late because of COVID-19 delays, she decided to launch an online web store in case restrictions would not allow in-store sales.
"It wasn't my plan to launch our website until early next year. However, with the uncertainties of COVID, we had to make changes," Ms Cuzzupi said.
"I didn't know when we're going to be able to open our door and I had all this stock ... Now we finally get to open our doors."
While she renovated the store and built the website, she also spent her daylight hours helping the two of her three children who are under five with Zoom video sessions for kindergarten.
Ms Cuzzupi would have opened the store in July if it weren't for COVID-19. Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
"That made it an even longer process, when everybody else is working 9am to 5pm and I'm replying to emails at night time. Everything is just delayed," Ms Cuzzupi said.
Chrissie Maus, general manager of the Chapel Street Precinct Association, said residents were cheering and tooting their car horns as the shopping strip prepared to reopen.
"I walked up to Windsor and people were literally high-fiving on the street. I was just like, 'Oh my God, I've never in my life seen this, apart from if there's a grand final on.' "
She said at least 14 new businesses were opening up on Chapel Street, in all sectors, after landlords started waiving rent for initial periods of three or six months.
"It's giving the people a chance if they cooked up an idea while they were at home in lockdown one. It's giving them a chance, those young entrepreneurs."
Foot traffic dropped by about 85 per cent, but Ms Maus estimated it was back to about 75 per cent of normal on Tuesday.
"There's a buzz out there ... The buzz has started and it's summer time, and we're going to make sure that people get to know Chapel Street again.
"We're excited about a summer like never before. It was really cheery to be part of the feeling of electricity on the street."
There is massive hurt in the small business community, though. More than 20 businesses in the precinct have permanently shut their doors and cinemas and the fitness industry can't reopen yet.
Ms Maus estimates that half of cafes on Chapel Street won't immediately open because of tough density quotas that make it unviable.