Upgrade kills off business
WOULD-BE shoppers at SPAR Innisfail have been met with locked doors and a sign declaring the store was closed for good due to “dysfunctional roadworks for the last 16 weeks”.
Owner David Lynch locked the doors for the last time on Sunday, saying customers have stopped shopping at the Goondi Bend store because of prolonged roadworks on the Bruce Highway.
On Monday, a sign outside the store said it was closed thanks to Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
Mr Lynch, who also owns several SPAR stores in Cairns, said the shop had suffered a substantial drop in business since the roadworks began.
“We’re not making ends meet; we were going OK up until the roadworks started,” Mr Lynch said. “There was a noticeable drop in business straight away and when they blocked one lane, it dropped to about 40 per cent.
“It was when the cars started piling up for kilometres that really did it.
“It’s unaffordable to keep the store going while there are roadworks going on with no end date.”
Mr Lynch said he had appealed to the Cassowary Coast Regional Council and Member for Hill Shane Knuth for help, but ultimately he could not afford to keep the store open.
“There were a lot of problems in the beginning with traffic lights failing and there were accidents and issues which turned a lot of people away,” he said.
“Even with the way it is now, it’s higgledy-piggledy and the workers are in no hurry to finish – I have been told March 7 is the finish date.
“We are just bleeding too much money and it is starting to affect my other stores.” The store is now up for sale. While much of the stock will be distributed to his other stores, Mr Lynch donated all the remaining fresh produce and meat to Innisfail Meals on Wheels.