Popular market place reopens with easing of COVID-19 restrictions
A popular Brisbane market place showcasing 100 local small businesses will reopen tomorrow, following a “massive” clean and the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
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A POPULAR Brisbane market place showcasing 100 local small businesses will reopen tomorrow following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
VEND Market Place at Virginia was forced to close about six weeks ago and director Amy Hinschen said she was “really excited’ about reopening, with everyone busy cleaning ahead of the weekend.
“Last Monday they said they were going to lift restrictions on non-essential businesses and as soon as that happened we had a meeting with all our vendors and got our staff back,” Miss Hinschen said.
“From last Monday to today all our vendors have come in, along with our staff, and we’ve had a massive clean. Many vendors have used the opportunity to revamp their shops so they look different.”
Miss Hinschen said there would be a lot of hygiene measures in place in the converted warehouse, which opened as VEND in September 2018 on Sandgate Rd.
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“We’re lucky with how big our place is as we are still allowed 300 people inside which we never really have at any time anyway,” she said.
There will be sanitising stations as people enter, 1.5 metre lines marked at the cafe (selling takeaway food and drinks) and in retail sections, and sanitising of eftpos machines and baskets after each use.
“Our aisles are already two metres wide so we are spread out,” Miss Hinschen said.
“We’ll have normal staff on the floor and a few extra as well keeping an eye on how many people are coming in, and staff walking the floor reminding people about social distancing if needed.”
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Miss Hinschen said almost all their retailers had returned and there were about three new ones.
VEND also put out a call for small businesses affected by COVID-19 with the offer “to help as many of you as possible if we can”.
“We had about eight responses so we are contacting them all to see if we can fit in a little cabinet of their stuff to help them out,” Miss Hinschen said.
“We are really excited about reopening just before Mother’s Day. With everything that’s happened about COVID-19 hopefully people will think about how they shop or who they buy from.
“When they think of Mother’s Day in particular they can come here and get a unique one-off product not found in larger shopping centres, and at the same time support a local small business.”
VEND retailers include local fashion designers and artists, homemade decor, indoor plants, repurposed furniture, jewellery, pet products, honey, condiments and jams.
From tomorrow, VEND will return to normal trading hours – 8am-4pm every day.
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