Gold Coast light rail stage 3: Tram construction shuts popular restaurant

Central Gold Coast business owners are nervously awaiting the impact of light rail construction, worrying they will see a repeat of Southport and Surfers Paradise’s experience a decade ago.

HERE we go again.

Construction of the Gold Coast light rail’s third stage, between Broadbeach and Burleigh Heads, is underway and already businesses are bracing themselves for a tough few years ahead.

The Bulletin this week revealed Mermaid Beach’s The Little Truffle had closed its doors until at least mid-2023 while building works occur on its doorstep for the tram.

Other traders are fearing the impact it will have on their businesses.

The Little Truffle made their intentions known on a billboard, and will close for renovations. . Picture Glenn Hampson

No financial compensation is forthcoming from either the Gold Coast City Council or state government.

For many long-time Gold Coasters, the week’s events revived memories of the difficult days a decade ago when the first stage of the tram was built,

The first sod was turned on the $1.2bn tramline between Griffith University and Broadbeach in 2011, with an anticipated opening date of late 2013.

The early works put a stress on business owners, including Bridgestone Select’s Paul King.

Mr King said he had lost 30 per cent of business .

``It’s killing business,’’ he said in 2011. ``Business is already struggling in this economic downturn and I’m losing another 30 per cent on top of that.

Paul King from Bridgestone Select Southport had to lay off 3 staff members in 2011 because the light rail reduced his business turn over.

``I’ve had to lay off three staff members this year.”

Construction timelines also rapidly blew out and by early 2013 it became clear there was no way work would be finished in time.

The Bulletin reported at the time: “The light rail has been plagued by problems starting with the early works before GoldLinQ that involved falling more than nine months behind schedule and being dealt multimillion dollar cost blowouts.”

But GoldLinQ was also dealt its own issues, including delays in construction when its workers found unexpected gas pipes and cables when digging up the roads, while the construction of two bridges across the Nerang River were held up for 12 months because of a court battle with the council.

An imagine showing work being carried out on Queensland's first ever light rain system in Southport on the Gold Coast, Tuesday, June 11, 2013. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

In May that year it was announced that the tram would launch in mid-2014.

Worried business owners raised concerns the delayed construction would ruin their Christmas trading that year.

Charlie’s Cafe owner Todd Downie told the Bulletin at the time: “We cop the bad news and keep on going.

`The businesses around here have been on their knees for a while,’’ he said.

Many businesses never recovered and closed.

The light rail finally launched in July 2014 and was an instant success, but those affected by the build never forgot the impact.

‘It’s not worth it’: Why light rail shut popular Coast restaurant

ONE of the Gold Coast’s best-known fine-dining restaurants will close its doors for at least six months to avoid being suffocated by construction of the light rail.

Hospitality mogul Daniel Ridgway has shuttered Little Truffle at Mermaid Beach until late 2023 while the bulk of construction occurs outside its front door.

The Mermaid Beach stretch of the Gold Coast Highway is now the epicentre of work on the tram’s Stage 3, with many local business owners nervous about their future.

It comes a decade after the disruption caused by work on Stage 1 in Southport and Surfers Paradise, which sent many businesses to the wall.

While a strong supporter of the public transport network being built, Mr Ridgway said keeping Little Truffle open “wasn’t worth it”.

“We are going to get the brunt of it and we just cannot trade through it – it’s simply not worth it,” he said.

Daniel Ridgeway. Picture Glenn Hampson

“We don’t want people to be having intimate dinners or marriage proposals happening while jackhammers are going off in the background.

“This is the busiest period of the year for us normally but it is what it is.”

Mr Ridgeway, who also operates Palm Beach Ave, is now planning to launch a major redevelopment and facelift for Little Truffle, which he has operated for 12 years.

“Come March we will use the time to totally renovate it, including knocking down some of the walls,” he said.

“It will reopen (in mid-late 2023) as Truffle 2.0 once the bulk of the problems are sorted and it will be bigger and better than before.”

Work started in October on the $1bn Stage 3 of the light rail, which will run from Broadbeach to Burleigh Heads.

Construction will initially focus on the northbound lanes in Mermaid Beach before switching to the southbound lanes.

Gold Coast City Council and state government will not offer compensation to affected business, a policy which has been in place since Stage 1.

Co-owner of Pastel & Bossa restaurant on the highway at Mermaid Beach, Lucas Nogaroto, said the construction works would be “horrible” for all nearby businesses.

“It will impact us a lot. Nobody’s going to park here or even just walk along here,” he said.

Lucas Nogoroto from Pastel and Bossa. Picture Glenn Hampson

The restaurateur, who only opened his business seven months ago, said he wasn’t in a position to close for an extended period.

“We need to be open. If the sales go down, we will be trying to survive,” Mr Nogaroto said.

“Little Truffle, they have been trading for so many years. They’re a big, established restaurant.

“For us, we haven’t had that chance yet.”

The business owner said he would seek compensation if sales were severely impacted.

Piatto’s Brad Pearce said his family-owned restaurant would not be closing during the works.

“I just hope it’s not as bad as the last stage – what happened in Southport,” he said.

“Hopefully they will learn from that.”

Several business owners the Bulletin spoke to were concerned they didn’t have enough information about the plans, and their requests for further details went unanswered from authorities.

Aaron Smith from Glenelg Public House. Picture Glenn Hampson

The Glenelg Public House owner Aaron Smith said he wanted more specific information about how heavy the works would be during certain periods.

“They can’t nail down any sort of time frame as far as when the heavy works are going to be and when the light works are going to be,” he said.

“They’ve got pretty pictures on pamphlets that give us a very broad ‘stage one’, but it doesn’t say how long stage one is going to go for.”

Mr Smith said his restaurant would remain open throughout construction.

“We’re assuming our local clientele is going to support us through it and we’ll get out the other side,” he said.

“It’s not going to be great, but I think we’ll survive.”