Coronavirus: The buzz is quieter but there’s still signs of life on Melbourne’s Lygon street

Lygon Street’s most beloved institutions and new names alike are confident the Melbourne strip will again buzz with cultural activity after surviving the pandemic.

Simon Watson at Lygon Street institution Jimmy Watson’s. Picture: Aaron Francis

Lygon Street’s most beloved institutions and new names alike are confident the Melbourne strip will again buzz with cultural activity after surviving the pandemic, which they say has hastened an push for renewal.

An audit by the City of Melbourne in November revealed out of 160 shops, 16 were temporarily closed due to COVID-19, with ­another 32 already vacant.

The audit counted properties on the Carlton strip in Melbourne’s north — which is littered with For Lease signs — along the 1km stretch between Victoria and Elgin Streets famed for its Italian migrant heritage and proximity to the University of Melbourne.

At Jimmy Watson’s — one of Melbourne’s first wine bars, established in 1935 — part-owner Simon Watson said coronavirus had been the catalyst for a lot of change on the street. “I know there are a few places that have gone under; I mean, some places from the 50s — a couple of Italian places that went under and I think it was because they were a bit stale,” the 48-year-old said.

“Everything evolves — how (the street) will evolve I don’t know — but I do know there are some wonderful operators in the street … some really good community-minded people.

“(The street) has been through good patches, it has been through better patches … but the artery that it is, it will always be breathing and pumping blood.”

Mr Watson said his business was fortunate because his grandfather and the original owner — Jimmy Watson — bought the building on the corner of Lygon and Elgin Street and he was protected from some of the “astronomical” rent prices on the street.

Another business synonymous with Lygon Street is Readings, an award-winning bookstore that opened on the strip in 1982. Owner Mark Rubbo said vacant shops started to appear about five years ago partly due to the rise of online retailers, and rent prices that were “way too high”.

“Lygon Street has always been great because you get a mixture of visitors and locals — it’s just got a strong community feel,” Mr Rubbo said.

One of the many empty shops along the Melbourne strip. Picture: Aaron Francis

“And it’s always traded on Italian heritage since, and that was in the immediate post-war period from the 50s and 60s … it’s a long time ago and there are still a number of Italian-owned businesses on the street trying to keep up that tradition,” he said.

“I think (Lygon Street) will come back because it has so many good things going for it.”

Mr Rubbo said the strip was “incredibly vibrant” in the 70s and 80s and he predicted a new wave of young entrepreneurs who wanted to establish “interesting and creative” businesses.

Real Estate Institute of Victoria vice-president Richard Simpson said Lygon Street had been struggling before COVID-19 hit due to other suburbs that offered cheaper rent — such as Fitzroy and Brunswick — as well as the “structural change” to online ­retail.

“Really, COVID has exacerbated the situation and made it more difficult for retailers … but that said, we are seeing deals being done and the strip will come back again there’s no doubt about it,” Mr Simpson said. “We are seeing a lot more ­retailers taking advantage of lower rents and moving back into the street, particularly in food and beverage.”

One of the street’s newcomers, Energia dance studios owner ­Angela Fayth, said she picked Lygon because she “loved the vibe” of the area. But after she survived Melbourne’s four-month lockdown it was time for the street to be cleaned up to encourage more foot traffic.

“You know people would ­always come past and you saw families, you saw couples, you saw singles, people going on dates and you saw the hot rods that all come here on the weekends,” Ms Fayth said. “The street (does) need rejuvenation 100 per cent,” the 34-year-old said.

“In terms of things that really would not cost too much money I think small things like cleaning up the area — there’s a lot of rubbish. And making rent affordable, so that businesses can be in the area.”