Post Office Bar owner John Calcino says Ocean St, Duporth Ave will not close for good

Several shopfronts in the Sunshine Coast’s busiest party precinct have been seen empty and sporting “for lease” signs as businesses struggle. But one veteran club owner says it isn’t the end.

A veteran nightclub owner on the Sunshine Coast’s party precinct has denied the area is facing permanent closure, after several empty shopfronts were seen sporting “for lease signs”.

A veteran nightclub owner on the Sunshine Coast’s party precinct has denied the area is facing permanent closure, after several empty shopfronts were seen sporting “for lease signs”.

Maroochydore’s Ocean St and Duporth Ave, part of the Maroochydore Safe Night Precinct, have long been regarded as the social hub of the Sunshine Coast, with popular nightclub venues drawing thousands of punters every weekend.

Post Office Nightclub and Beer Garden owner John Calcino was one of the driving forces behind establishing the Safe Night Precinct, and has watched the area transform while at the helm of his venue for almost a decade.

But businesses in the night-life hotspot have struggled since the end of the pandemic, with recent closures including Miyako Lounge on Ocean St and Eleven Dive Bar on Duporth Ave.

Around eight businesses on Ocean St and Duporth Ave were seen on March 11 to be vacant and sporting “for lease signs”.

Mr Calcino said he felt one of the main reasons businesses were struggling was a combination of fall out from Covid, cost of living pressures impacting customers and competition with other businesses. He said restaurants were struggling more than night life venues.

Buildings in Ocean St and on Duporth Ave for lease. Photo taken 11/03/24.

“I think there’s a lot more competition for the restaurants, and that’s just made it more difficult for them,” he said.

He said while he himself was not struggling, he knew of many others who were.

He estimated Ocean St would draw between two to three thousand people per night before the pandemic, but estimated numbers now have dwindled by about 30 per cent.

“Post Covid, things have changed, and I think they’ve changed forever,” he said.

“People realised they don’t have to come out, they can save money and stay home … and they can do it for nothing.

“Whereas they can come out, they spend money getting into a venue, they spend money at the venue, they’ve got to get home, it’s always difficult with Ubers late at night.”

The Post Office bar in Ocean St, Maroochydore. Photo: Elizabeth Neil

But despite all this, Mr Calcino said the party precinct is not at risk of shutting down forever.

“I think that when the financial factors change a little bit, when interest rates come back down and cost of living isn’t so high, I think those places (up for lease) will fill up,” he said.

In terms of support for struggling businesses, Mr Calcino said he didn’t believe in government interference in issues that did not directly concern them.

Buildings in Ocean St and on Duporth Ave for lease. Photo taken 11/03/24.

“It’s an individual decision between the landlord and the tenant,” he said.

“It’s up to the landlord (to say) ‘do I want to lose the tenant or do I want to help them out?’.”

He said the government should not be supporting failing businesses unless government issues, such as Covid restrictions, were a contributing factor.

“You take the risk, you reap the rewards if they’re available,” he said.

Maroochydore Chamber of Commerce President Brendan Bathersby said Ocean St’s economy was certainly suffering from cost of living pressures, but some hospitality businesses were thriving.

He said the number of vacancies in Ocean St and Duporth Ave, while “not a good look” were not “necessarily a doomsday story”.

“I think that hospitality is cyclical in nature … but the tenancies are cyclical,” he said.

“I don’t think you would read too much into the vacancies.”