SUPPORT IS BREWING
BURLEIGH cafe owner Brodie Green is among operators seeing an unexpected border closure boom.
“The borders shutting has consolidated everyone,’’ the Seadog cafe owner said. “We are literally doing numbers I’d never thought would be possible for a cafe this size.”
Other businesses are reporting more local customers since the borders were shut – but not everyone is happy.
BURLEIGH Heads cafe Seadog was on the brink of shutting down.
But now it is wagging its tail, with custom reportedly booming after border closures saw Gold Coasters start to support local businesses.
The cafe’s owner Brodie Green, 29, said the change in attitude from locals helped his business survive.
“In the first two weeks of COVID we thought we’d need to shut,” he said. “Our sales in the last seven weeks have increased by around three times the amount.
“The borders shutting has consolidated everyone.”
A focus on takeaway services has meant the hole-in-thewall cafe has been able to remain open during unprecedented restrictions and Mr Green said other businesses reopening around him has helped even more.
“On the weekend we had our biggest Saturday and Sunday we’ve ever had. We are literally doing numbers I’d never thought would be possible for a cafe this size.”
Social Brew manager Clementine Haines, 27, said the cafe in the Burleigh Arcade had seen positives and negatives from the borders shutting.
“We had such great support from our locals that we were able to survive and stay open the whole time,” she said.
“We have found new customers who live around the corner because we were able to stay open.
“There are a few regulars who live across the border and travel a long way to see us, so we’re looking forward to seeing them again.”
Vegan skincare business Cedar and Stone has also had more local customers since borders shut but the decision has made life harder for coowner Anna Hamilton, 27, who lives in Hastings Point.
“Getting through the border has been pretty intense,” she said.
“I just have to leave a little bit early, I only live half an hour from here.”
The Burleigh Heads business has only been running for just under a year and a strong online presence helped it stay alive during a four-week closure, but Ms Hamilton is hoping a boost in local support will remain in the future.
“We have a lot of Sydney customers so they have eased off but locally we are still getting good support,” she said.
“As restrictions lift, we’ll hopefully have more customers from Queensland and New South Wales.”