Rising Covid cases leaves Coast businesses lower on festive trade than expected

It’s usually the busiest time of year for retail and hospitality operators, but the rising surge of Covid cases has resulted in many Coast businesses losing out on vital trade.

The Christmas and New Year period is the time of year retailers and hospitality owners bank on the most for a strong customer turnover throughout December.

However, the sharp increase in omicron Covid-19 cases following the reopening of state borders at the beginning of December has left many local businesses on the Coast down on festive season revenue comparatively to both pre-pandemic and last year’s earnings.

Craft Espresso & Bar Director Prabh Singh said business has fluctuated this festive season in contrast to previous years for his restaurant on the Mooloolaba Esplanade

“Compared to last year it has been a bit of a downfall,” Mr Singh said.

“Normally it would start getting busy from December 15 but this year we only started getting busy from the last couple of days.

“It’s been really up and down. We’ve been here for three years now, compared to last couple of seasons it was always consistent, we rely on this Christmas period to make money, but at the moment it’s not happening like that.”

Enigma Restaurant and Bar was co-founded on Ocean St in Maroochydore earlier this year by Mick Wallace, formerly head chef at Machu Picchu.

Wallace said the unpredictable nature of the pandemic had been difficult in hospitality for restaurateurs and customers alike.

“The biggest thing is the uncertainty of people whether or not they’re allowed to come out to dinner based on if they’re not feeling well,” Mr Wallace said.

“Dealing with bookings, we just had a New Year’s Eve booking for 15, but it could be 13, it could be eight, they’re just waiting on Covid results.

“That’s probably the biggest impact it’s had.”

Sneaky Baron Bar Owner Damon Strachan said venue check-in compliance among customers and staff shortages due to Covid have affected productivity at his Ocean St business.

“It’s been the major issue, we turned away 50-60 people on Wednesday,” Strachan said.

“I had 13 staff two weeks ago now I’ve got four, we lost six to close contacts even though they haven’t been here but they’ve been together at home and didn’t realise until it was too late.”

Brad Salem, owner of Salem’s Cave in Caloundra said he has had to revert his eatery away from indoor and outdoor dining to takeaway and reduce rostered hours for staff to better manage his venue.

“It wasn’t as good as last year’s because people were dining in, it was lit up in here, we had music going, it was a completely different scene,” Salem said.

“We’re still fighting but it definitely wasn’t like the previous trade.”

The disappointing Christmas trade comes as cases on the Sunshine Coast continue to rise each day.