Business owners ‘struggling big time’ during lockdown
BUSINESS owners in Alfreton Road have described the torrid trading conditions during the latest lockdown, with many saying they are worrying about survival.
Alfreton Road used to be a buzzing high street packed with shops, pubs and banks, frequented by the thousands of factory workers employed in the area.
The Post spoke to a number of business owners and managers on the street who said they were barely covering their basic bills, including one who said they were considering closing their shop just weeks after reopening.
Saeid Yousefi, manager of Turkish restaurant Istanbul, said: “It’s been very quiet. It is really bad now. Of course we’re worried. As a restaurant we need to have people sitting in the restaurant; for the takeaway when I serve people they have to stay outside. Everywhere’s the same.”
Just across the street, at gym supplies shop Body Definition, Aniko Gazafi said: “We’re struggling big time. Some weeks are better than others but there’s mostly not many people coming in because gyms are closed. Some people are training at home but not many so people don’t need as many supplements as before.
“We’re already thinking about closing down the shop again. We closed in January and reopened at the beginning of February to see how business was going to be but it’s not very good. We’re barely getting on to pay the rent and the bills.”
Students make up a big part of the trade around Alfreton Road and Canning Circus, and Nick Sangha, owner of the World of Drinks off licence, says with many of them not having returned to Nottingham, his shop has suffered.
He said: “Business is a little quiet now. Many students have come back, but many students have stayed at home because study’s online. Especially in the city centre and student areas it’s quiet. Normally when it’s busy there are lots of people walking around here.”
But some of the traders on the street reported a more positive experience of lockdown, including the manager of another Turkish restaurant, Tipoo, on the corner of Raleigh Street.
Tipoo manager Mehmet Yalcin said: “These last couple of weeks have been slow but it’s been picking up. It’s just that with the Covid people are scared to go out. We’re not doing any deliveries we’re just doing a collection-only system, but other than that we’re doing okay, it’s picked up. When we went into lockdown it was quiet but then during Christmas it was okay, it was good. “Our customers are mostly families. Students not being here doesn’t affect us that much. It’s just that families are scared for their kids.
“We have people come from West Bridgford and Beeston. Touch wood it looks like it’s going to be okay and we will pick up again.”