Covid-19 sucking the life out of Carlton’s iconic Lygon Street

Traders fear the heritage of Lygon St will be lost forever, with lockdowns crippling the lifeblood of Melbourne’s “Little Italy”.

Traders on Melbourne’s once-thriving Lygon St say they fear it could be the end of “Little Italy”. Picture Jay Town

Traders on Melbourne’s once-thriving Lygon St say they fear it could be the end of “Little Italy” if they don’t receive urgent financial support.

The Herald Sun visited the popular Carlton strip and found more than 30 shops and restaurants closed or vacant.

Graffiti was scrawled across several vacant shop windows and dumped rubbish was seen at some empty shop fronts.

The Herald Sun also saw at least six homeless people begging for food and money.

Michael Choucair, who owned La Spaghetteria Ristorante for almost 50 years, said the Covid-19 pandemic had taken a huge toll on his business.

“I was forced to close it in September last year because we knew the pandemic was going to take a long time and after 47 years we decided to walk away,” Mr Choucair said.

“This could be the end of Little Italy.

“It’s very sad. So many businesses need financial support from the government and if they don’t get it, they will close down.

Cafe Notturno owner Salvatore Cultrera said the pandemic had destroyed Lygon St. Picture Jay Town

“The landlord would not budge with our rent and we had to close. I still drive down the street every second day and I just miss it so much, it was like home.”

Former Lygon St landmark Toto’s Pizza – which was famously the first pizza house in Australia when it opened more than 60 years ago – shut its doors last year after losing tens of thousands of dollars due to gruelling coronavirus lockdowns.

Zain Mazloum, who took over Toto’s from his father Sami in February last year, said the heritage of Lygon St had been lost.

“We have lost everything because of this pandemic,” Mr Mazloum said.

“We opened up last year after the lockdown in July and we lost $85,000 between three shops. All of this money was spent on food we had to throw away because of another lockdown.

“Losing the business I loved has been devastating.

“Lygon St businesses and all of the others who are struggling need desperate financial help – or they will close too.”

Il Gusto owner Ali Elbatt said he had also lost tens of thousands of dollars due to the pandemic. “I’ve never seen Lygon St like this. It’s been so terrible,” Mr Elbatt said. “I’ve seen dozens of businesses close who were here for many years and they won’t come back.”

Many business spaces are up for lease in Lygon Street. Picture Jay Town

Lygon Street is home to many vacant store fronts. Picture Jay Town

Paul Tasca, who owns Bottega Tasca, a family-run wine shop in the heart of Lygon St, said: “We need to start encouraging people to get back to work when it’s safe to do so. We also lost all of the University of Melbourne students who would visit the street.”

Cafe Notturno owner Salvatore Cultrera, who has owned the restaurant for 20 years, said the pandemic had destroyed Lygon St.

“A lot of businesses have either closed or will struggle to come back. I’ve been here forever and I’ve never seen anything like it,” Mr Cultrera said.

“But eventually we will reopen properly and it’s not the end of Little Italy – I’m going to keep fighting on.”

He said the council should “urgently” help Lygon St by supporting events including its hugely popular Lygon St Festival, which attracts thousands of people.

“In partnership with the City of Melbourne, we have backed Carlton businesses and projects to revitalise Lygon St, and more initiatives are imminent,” a state government spokesman said.

Lygon Street traders have united to call for more support. Picture Jay Town

Ratepayers Victoria president Dean Hurlston said the council should focus its energy on safe business recovery.

“Events, promotions and festivals must be the absolute priority of the council once Covid vaccinations are at acceptable levels,” he said.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp said: “Lygon St is an iconic destination with a rich migrant history and we are committed to helping the precinct get back on its feet as soon as restrictions allow.” She said the council was providing rate relief, continuing its financial support for the extended outdoor dining program and parklets, providing incentives for people to get vaccinated, and breathing new life into vacant shopfronts.

She said the council was working closely with Victoria Police to catch the criminals who took part in tagging and other illegal graffiti in the city, and the council had invested more than $1.1m on graffiti removal this year.