Parking shortage could see chemist shift
News Albany Village’s anchor store could be moving has devastated business owners.
In an Upper Harbour Local Board meeting on November 11 Albany Village Business Association spokeswoman Shirley Dobbyn said the village’s Unichem store owner, Mohammed Bashir, announced that the store will be moving.
Dobbyn told board members that the village’s ongoing parking shortage is driving businesses away.
The news is a blow for local business owners.
It will mean big trouble for the village if the chemist that has been the village’s anchor store for more than 30 years leaves, Dobbyn says.
Deputy chairwoman Lisa Whyte assured Dobbyn that the board is working on a solution that will provide some relief to the village’s parking problem.
But the solution is confidential at this stage, Whyte says.
Bashir does not want to confirm any plans about the move until next year.
But he says he is looking at all of his options.
He hopes to keep his business in Albany and look after his loyal customers who are the main reason his business is surviving, he says.
Customers can be assured the store will be around for at least another year, he says. But hopefully business will improve with the new parking solution and he won’t have to go elsewhere. Christmas is just around the corner so Westfield Albany are throwing Santa a welcoming party. The party starts today and runs until Sunday. On Saturday at 1pm is A Sparking Christmas Show event, where Snowflake Princesses and a sparkling Christmas show will entertain shoppers. Shoppers also have the chance to give a gold coin donation at the gift wrapping booths, supporting both KidsCan and the Child Cancer Foundation.