Coffs small businesses face downturn as Covid restrictions continue

Easily finding a spot at Coffs Harbour’s most notoriously congested car parks is a sure sign people are staying home.

A quick look around the Coffs Harbour CBD and it’s evident the latest round of Covid restrictions are taking a toll – empty chairs easily outnumber patrons at most cafes.

Even spaces at the notoriously congestested Park Ave car park are easily found.

Heath Keizer, owner of CBD restaurant MamaGoto said there was a dramatic drop in patrons after the Covid scare at the Hoey Moey in Park Beach.

“Straight away the town just emptied out,” he said.

“But now it has been two weeks and nothing has come of it we are hoping it might pick up.”

“It’s hard to judge.”

Yukari and Heath Keizer (pictured here in 2018) have seen a significant drop in business since the Covid scare in Coffs Harbour a fortnight ago.

Since then business was still “ticking over”, but Mr Keizer said the level of trade was between half and two thirds what it would usually be.

The city is now grappling with the impact of a depleted number of tourists as well as a move back to remote work for many businesses and public servants.

Some staff at Coffs Harbour City Council, the biggest single employer in the CBD, are back working from home.

Mr Keizer is not the only one feeling the pinch, a number of other businesses have been similarly impacted.

One business owner, who wanted to remain anonymous, put trading at about 40 per cent of their usual level.

The unfolding issues have been seized on by Business NSW who have been campaigning for more support for small businesses impacted by the latest round of measures introduced to stop the state’s coronavirus outbreak from spreading.

Business NSW regional manager Kellon Beard said businesses were struggling to keep up as the lockdown lengthened and the restrictions expanded.

“With changing restrictions and new support measures, it’s difficult for business owners to stay abreast of what’s happening while keeping their staff employed and their businesses afloat,” Mr Beard said.

“Business needs a level of certainty moving forward, otherwise many businesses across the Mid North Coast and NSW will never re-open and jobs will be lost for good.”

Soon after Mr Beard called for the JobSaver program to be expanded, the NSW Government announced it would be lifting the maximum weekly payment for eligible businesses from $10,000 to $100,000.

JobSaver payments are now available to businesses with an annual turnover of between $75,000 and $250 million, which have experienced a revenue decline of 30 per cent or more.