Maroondah shopping: The latest changes to Eastland and Croydon Main Street

A music shop which traded for five decades is among the latest shops to close in Maroondah’s shopping hubs, but some exciting replacements are on the way.

One of Maroondah’s last remaining music shops has closed after five decades, in another blow to one end of a popular shopping strip.

Hans Music, which opened on Croydon Main Street in 1973, closed on August 26, just a week after the nearby Happy Days Donuts diner also shut up shop.

A statement on the store’s website explained that directors Hans and Monika Meyer, both in their 80s, had decided to retire.

But the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the pressure for the business to stay competitive against major retailers had also taken its toll.

The family-owned business will continue to offer some instruments, sheet music and other products on its online store.

Hans Music’s Toby Beaumont, Casey Fitzpatrick, Peter Meyer, and Monika Meyer in 2018.

“Hans and Monika are in their mid-80s and want some more time in their life for travel, gardening and all the fun things they deserve after 50 years of service to the community,” the website stated.

“Music retail is a tough industry, the after effects of ongoing Covid lockdowns and the presence of heightened competition from online only mega-retailers makes small family-run music stores, like Hans Music, harder and harder to profitably operate.

“We will continue to sell any remaining items of stock on the website as well as our specialised imports.”

Croydon Main Street general manager Samantha Bartlett paid tribute to the Meyers for their “iconic” contribution to the shopping precinct.

“Everyone’s known it was a go-to music shop,” Ms Bartlett said.

“People like to feel and pick up a guitar before they’ve buying and that trial before you buy option is now gone from Croydon.”

Ms Bartlett said business activity and foot traffic remained strong on the street despite the recent closures.

She said the precinct’s vacancy rate had dropped by seven spaces since the start of the year, and some gaps would soon be filled by a hairdresser and a site office for the Level Crossing Removal Project.

“Closer to Christmas as people bounce back a little bit more, people will have that confidence to come back and visit their local shops,” she said.

Meanwhile, changes are afoot at Eastland’s town square after the Lavezzi Gelato outlet, which opened after the establishment of the precinct in 2015, closed down recently.

Eastland centre manager Stuart Lloyd confirmed popular burger chain Betty’s Burgers would open its newest Melbourne store at the centre later this year.

It will be taking the gelato shop’s old space, and the old home of Huxtaburger next door, which closed about 12 months ago.

Along with its burgers, Betty’s menu includes ‘concretes’ – milkshakes made with frozen custard ice cream.

Mr Lloyd also confirmed sports retailer Pivot had departed the centre after just over 18 months of trading, with work underway to deliver “an exciting new brand” to the space in its aths-leisure precinct, The Circuit.

The centre’s long-planned Baby Bunting superstore opened at the start of the month, replacing 10 other smaller retailers which have moved to other spots throughout the centre.