Bayside retail strip defied dying trend sweeping Brisbane’s high streets
Retail strips across Brisbane are dying a slow death and yet a bayside suburb southeast of the CBD is doing just fine ... and there’s a major reason why.
QLD Business
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MAJOR shopping centres may have sucked the life out of Brisbane’s retail strips but not in this bayside suburb where ‘For Lease’ signs are scarce and shoppers are plentiful.
Eateries, cafes, hairdressers and banks line the main street of Cleveland, about 30km southeast from the CBD.
Middle St (between Bloomfield and Wyandra St) was thriving on Wednesday, a far cry from shopping strips at Nundah and Sherwood.
One of the busiest stores along Middle St was Banjo’s bakery and cafe, which underwent a refit eight months ago.
Manager Lisa Read said being the “gateway” to Straddie was a bonus for the retail hub and the fact they were somewhat isolated from major shopping centres kept residents closer to home.
“The nearest major shopping centre, with a Myer and major department stores, would be Carindale, but the closest is about 15 minutes at Capalaba,” Ms Read said.
“We are a little isolated from the bigger shopping centres when you look at it like that.”
QUT business school professor Professor Gary Mortimer says it’s no coincidence that Cleveland’s retail strip is holding its own during tough times.
Nundah’s retailers and eateries were competing with Chermside and Toombul shopping centres, which have both undergone extensive upgrades in recent years.
And Indooroopilly’s behemoth shopping centre loomed as a dark cloud over Sherwood, while even the retailers along Oxford St, Bulimba had their own shopping centre nemesis, he said.
“The $35m extension of the Toombul centre, with an extensive outdoor dining and entertainment area, would be impacting on Nundah Village,” Mr Mortimer said.
“Similarly Carindale would pull shoppers from the Bulimba pocket, as would Indooroopilly, from the Sherwood area
“Cleveland and areas like Wynnum, and Manly, seem relatively insulated from these large super-centres.”
But it’s not just the insulation that helps Cleveland. “(It) has a relatively stable population, less middle and high density development, sufficient parking and a good mix of retail offers,” he said.
Among the diverse number of eateries along Middle St are Pierre’s Gourmet cafe, run by Sharon Milne, and Fish on Fire which is owned by Flora Cai.
Both owners expressed concerns about the future despite the lack of vacancies.
Ms Cai said that despite having a large elderly population they had not been frequenting the area as often while foot traffic was slightly down in general.
“It’s not a good as it used to be,” Ms Cai said.
“Partly, it’s because of the economy and quite a lot of retirees are not coming out as often as they used to and we don’t have enough young families around here to make it up.”
Ms Milne echoed her sentiments while adding that overall businesses were reliant on the boutique Cleveland Central shopping centre, which straddles both sides of Middle St, to stay afloat.
“This particular street does OK because of the shopping centre itself but in saying that though the street is fully occupied, the shops still struggle,” she said.
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