Working from home has halved business for city cafes and owners are struggling to keep their heads above the gutter

With more people working from home, cafe owners on Waymouth Street are losing half their customers and are struggling to keep their business out of the gutter.

Sunil Sharma remembers the minute he found out working from home would become a normality and knew right then it would spell the end for his business.

A deal struck between unions and the government which allowed public servants to work from home for as many days as they desired has CBD cafes on the ropes, with Mr Sharma’s Jack Greens on Waymouth Street included.

“I remember that moment reading it off the news, it was heartbreaking,” he said.

“I knew that was going to be the end of my business.”

Jack Greens on Waymouth Street is one of many coffee and lunch eateries open from early morning to early afternoon catering to office workers once confined to the CBD.

Sunil Sharma, owner of Jack Greens on Waymouth Street, has seen a huge decline in numbers since office workers began working from home. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

The small patch on Waymouth Street is situated close to government departments, whose employees make up more than half their customers.

“There’s the immigration office behind us, the Department of Energy and Mining,” Mr Sharma said.

“But I mean, look around, how many people do you see with government lanyards?”

Mr Sharma bought Jack Greens towards the end of Covid, hoping business would pick up with the return to “normal”.

In 2017, the business was making $700-800K a year, but with working from home a full-time option the cafe is struggling.

“When Jack Greens started off in 2017, I would say we were making around $700-800K a year and now it’s dropped by at least $300-400K, so we are on about $400-450K, close to $500K,” he said.

“Despite the fact that we are supposed to be back to normal – we are definitely not.

“Back then, I thought working from home would impact us a little bit but not to the extent we see now.

Sunil Sharma from cafe Jack Greens on Waymouth Street is a small-business owner who has seen a decline in business because of people continuing to work from home. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe.

“What happens to small businesses like ours, who depend on foot traffic?

Ben Betelli, who has just sold the CIBO on Waymouth St, said the cafe has lost 50 per cent of its customers since he bought it seven or eight years ago.

With numbers steadily declining, he has opted to shift his focus outside the city – to two cafes in Dulwich and Woodville.

“There are more customers in the suburbs, because they’re all working from home,” he said.

Staff member Alice Pham from My Kingdom for a Horse can bear witness to this trend, working alternating shifts between the smaller Waymouth Street pop-up store and the larger main cafe on Wright Street.

Their Waymouth location is designed primarily for takeaway coffees and quick bites, relying on a steady stream of foot traffic.

Ms Pham said the drop in numbers on Waymouth is made up for by a rise in spending at their main cafe by hybrid workers, who come in and set up their laptops, working from the cafe as they would from home.

Likuid Espresso barista Sam Hudman said the Waymouth Street cafe makes roughly the same amount over five days as their secondary cafe makes over seven days, located inside a shopping centre in Mitcham.

“The biggest difference for us is the days of the week,” Mr Hudman said.

“Now Monday and Friday are by far our worst days, because I think more people work from home on those days.

“Friday used to be our busiest days and now Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday are busier.

“Monday morning is always quiet now as well.

“The people that are here are spending more than they used to, I think because they’re only here a few days a week.

“So our numbers are pretty much back to normal.”

Co-owners of Melt on Waymouth Street have a different business model but still say Friday long lunches are a thing of the past. Picture: Mark Brake

Restaurant owners Sally Davey and Scott Kuerschner, who co-own Melt Pizzeria on Waymouth Street, have the benefit of a liquor license and open their doors later in the day for the lunch and dinner rush.

Ms Davey said although alcohol consumption remained the same as before, these days there is no pattern anymore to spending or dining habits and apart from office catering, there is no consistency or predictability.

For Mr Sharma, the end was predictable.

“I would have shut down probably six months back but I couldn’t because I signed the lease until the end of the year,” he said.

“We’re covering rent, staff are being paid, but we’re not making any profit, we’re barely breaking even.

“I haven’t paid myself a wage in a year and a half.

“Not since 2021.”

Originally published as Working from home has halved business for city cafes and owners are struggling to keep their heads above the gutter