Parisi’s Food Hall owner Peter Morelli rallies against plans for $58m Woolworths supermarket in Rose Bay

The owner of a family-run grocer in Sydney’s eastern suburbs has slammed plans for a new Woolworths supermarket, warning “little operators” can’t compete with “a juggernaut”.

A concept image of the proposed $58.6m Woolworths development.

The owner of a family-run grocer in Sydney’s eastern suburbs has slammed plans to build a Woolworths in the centre of Rose Bay, warning there are already too many supermarkets and a new addition would “squeeze out the little operators”.

Fabcot – the development arm of Woolworths – has lodged plans with Woollahra Council for a four-storey development on South Head Rd.

It would comprise a ground level supermarket, 13 apartments and basement carparking.

Woolworths claims the development would address a shortage of supermarkets in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, which it says is “negatively impacting” the lifestyle of residents.

But Peter Morelli, who owns the family-run Parisi’s Food Hall, which has operated in Rose Bay for more than 15 years, says there is “no shortage” of supermarkets locally.

The planned development would include upper level apartments.

He pointed out the harbourside suburb already had a Woolworths Metro, an IGA store and a Harris Farm outlet, warning another option could send smaller traders broke.

“There’s no need for another supermarket in Rose Bay and all it will do is squeeze out the little operators,” he said.

Owner Peter Morelli at Parisi's Food Hall in Rose Bay.

“Regardless of how good or bad we operate, putting in another supermarket will have a huge impact on us because we can’t compete with a juggernaut.

“Even though we have loyal customers, people will shop there because of the familiarity with the big chains. How do we compete with that?”

Woolworths’ plans show the $58.6m development would include a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom units, as well as 70 carparking spaces and landscaping works.

The site of the proposed development is currently occupied by a Woolworths “direct to boot” outlet, which opened less that 12 months ago and enables shoppers to pick up pre-ordered goods.

The new supermarket would be built on this site in Rose Bay.

According to Woolworths, the planned development would address demand for a larger supermarket in the eastern suburbs, which is it says is served by only a handful of full-line supermarkets at Bondi Junction, Edgecliff and Double Bay.

“Research has found that the present supermarket offering within the surrounding area does not have the scale to adequately serve the needs of the community,” Fabcot stated in its plans.

“This negatively impacts on the surrounding infrastructure and everyday life of the residents in the community.”

The plans also stated the proposed development would boost business activity in Rose Bay South and “bring greater vibrancy and activation to Old South Head Rd”.

A concept image of the proposed supermarket development.

A Woolworths spokesman said community consultation had “informed the design” of the proposed development.

“There is a significant need for this supermarket in the local catchment, as the catchment has less than half the typical Sydney metropolitan provision of supermarkets,” he said.

“This means that over half of all Rose Bay residents leave the local area for their food and grocery shopping.

“This is not only inconvenient for the Rose Bay community, but also contributes to traffic congestion.”

The proposal is the latest Sydney supermarket redevelopment to include housing, following similar projects that include a $167m Woolworths outlet planned for Neutral Bay on the north shore.

The mooted development is expected to be determined by the Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel due to the cost and scale of works proposed.