Brisbane CBD businesses suffer as office workers stay home during tough restrictions

The Brisbane CBD appeared as if the lockdown was still in place today as workers stayed home to avoid the strict office mask mandate that will remain in place for the next two weeks.

The economic impact of the lockdown is still lingering in Brisbane’s central business district while Queensland’s peak business body found business confidence had declined for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

Brisbane’s usually bustling city centre was almost bare of its workforce on Monday as tough restrictions were expected to remain for two weeks.

Owner of Squared Espresso Jesse Sargent believed the mandate requiring office workers to mask-up at their desks had swayed them to keep working from home.

Mr Sargent said the city appeared as though a lockdown was still in place, and that was reflected in his sales.

Jesse Sargent sold less coffees this week. Picture: Brad Fleet

The King George Square vendor sold about 30 coffees during morning trade through lockdown and on Monday, when he would usually sell 100 to 150.

“We have experience in this now, and we find that after every lockdown it takes about a week for the city to come back to life again,” Mr Sargent said.

“It’s nice to see people doing the right thing though.”

Coffee Commune Founder Phil Di Bella said he didn’t expect city trade to return to pre-lockdown levels for weeks.

The Brisbane coffee mogul whose facility supplies products to about 800 venues said he saw trade drop by about 60 per cent across his network during the lockdown.

“We will see that bounce back by about 10 per cent per week,” Mr Di Bella said.

“It’s not a tap that you can just turn on again and everything starts flowing.

“We wish it did work like that but it’s not going to happen because of the loss of consumer confidence.”

Covid masks in the city rule has seen more people stay at home affecting business owners like Jesse Sargent. Picture: Brad Fleet

Mr Di Bella said the ongoing impact of the lockdown was especially felt by cafes and retailers in the CBD who weren’t getting the usual foot traffic.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland’s June quarter survey found business confidence had declined for the first time since the economic crisis began in March 2020 with almost half of business owners or their staff saying it had contributed to mental health challenges.

Data released on Monday showed business confidence in the Australian economy for the next twelve months dipped by 5.5 points in the quarter to June.

CCIQ Policy and Advocacy General Manager Amanda Rohan said by June, businesses had on average recovered half way to pre-COVID levels.

She said businesses had struggled to restore confidence levels, especially since the end of JobKeeper and through recent lockdowns.

“Until June, the 12-month outlook measurement of businesses confidence dramatically improved for both the Queensland and national economies but the persistent uncertainty (that) continued snap lockdowns caused has brought that to an end and confidence dropped or plateaued for the first time since March 2020,” she said.

“It’s meant more than 40 per cent of businesses have been forced to contribute their own personal funds to keep their business afloat, on average more than $110,000.

“We have been saying all year the significant impact snap lockdowns and the uncertainty they create on business and consumer confidence will dramatically influence businesses’ ability to recover and these results prove businesses are uncertain of their ability to get back to business.”

Covid masks in the city rule has seen more people stay at home affecting business owners like Sarah Parkin. Picture: Brad Fleet

Family-owned business The Tea Centre in Brisbane Arcade “took a bit of a hit” during the eight-day lockdown according to manager Sarah Parkin who hadn’t expected business to be booming on Monday.

“But it was worth it for the safety of everyone,” Ms Parkin said.

“Today has been slow, I think it is a combination of the rain and it's the first day back after lockdown.

“Hopefully it picks up throughout the week as people make their way back to offices.”

Senior Policy Officer Valeriia Leonte. PICTURE: Brad Fleet

Senior policy officer Valeriia Leonte said that she was one of the only people in her inner-city office.

“They are staying home now when they still have the option to,” she said.

“I miss being surrounded by people, but I think some will start to come back to the office in the next coming weeks.”

Anthony Green is the eyes and the ears of Queen Street Mall, selling street newspaper The Big Issue on the corner of the Mall.

“It’s been a very quiet Monday,” he said.