Plenty General Store owner blames Yan Yean Rd works for store’s closure
The owner of Plenty General Store says he has been forced to close his store for good on the eve of Christmas after road works left him with tens of thousands of dollars debt. He says more needs to be done to help small business.
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A much-loved convenience store in Plenty will close, with the owner blaming nearby road works for “killing” the business and leaving him wallowing in tens of thousands of dollars debt.
Plenty General Store owner Robert El-Azar said the business “was never the same” after the opening of the improved Yan Yean Rd in March.
He said his business was forced to operate on a “dead-end” service road, Old Yan Yean Rd.
“We have been cut off from main road traffic since the start of this year — we are all alone on this service road,” he said.
“Now I’m left with $40,000 of debt and no means to pay it off.”
Mr El-Azar told the Leader it was “devastating” to leave the community he had served for 12 years in such a way.
He called on Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV) to “do more” to support local businesses affected by nearby large-scale traffic projects.
“They did a couple of menu drop-offs for us and printed out a sign pointing drivers towards our shop, so they did help,” he said.
“But any potential buyers have been scared away since the start of the road works and we never really stood a chance.”
Major Road Projects Victoria program director Damien Afxentis said he was “sincerely sorry to hear” Plenty General Store would close its doors.
“We have offered to continue to help them and the landlord during the transitional stage,” he said.
“MRPV understand that roadworks can sometimes be disruptive, it’s why we offer small businesses an extensive range of programs to help them throughout the construction process.”
But Mr El-Azar said it was a case of “taking away a car and leaving a seatbelt”.
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A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Mr El-Azar get back on his feet.
Stage one of the $131 million upgrade was completed in July.
The upgrade included widening the road to a four-lane arterial and updating six intersections with traffic lights.
Construction on stage two will start after the Environmental Effects Statement process is completed.