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Thursday, 22 July, 2021
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Businesses hurt By Danielle Kutchel The lockdown pill is getting harder and harder to swallow for local businesses. At Berwick’s New York Barbers, there’s no buzz of razors right now. Unable to open for haircuts, the room is quiet. Owner Mario Fallace has kept the barber’s attached diner open for coffee and hotdogs, but even those sales are few and far between, he said. “It won’t pay all the outgoings,” he said. After five lockdowns, he said it’s getting more and more difficult for small businesses to reopen. Each time, Mr Fallace said, was like starting from the very beginning again. His losses over the duration of the pandemic are around $700,000. A Berwick icon, Mr Fallace said he’s not going anywhere – but he worries other businesses won’t be so fortunate. “You hear people say, ‘we’re used to it now’, but they’re not business owners. Put yourself in the shoes of a business owner having to start virtually from scratch again every single time,” he said. The massive performing arts industry has once again been forced to grind to a halt in lockdown, and chairperson of Berwick’s MYP Productions Inc, Carmen Powell, said it’s heartbreaking for both performers and staff. Staff are finding it harder and harder to stay positive and come up with new creative ways to engage students over Zoom, and students are struggling without having the physical outlet and community of performing to embrace them. “It is devastating to our business financially, physically, emotionally, everything,” she said. “Last year we took it on the chin and worked as hard as we could to keep it all there but this is getting exhausting. It’s like running a race and not knowing where the finish line is. “We’re drained.”
Moe Grepo, owner of Sugar Buns, said the government hasn’t done enough to support small businesses during the latest lockdown. 244468 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS Financially, she said, studios were being pushed to the limit – especially after a year of closures and limited revenue opportunities. “Even while the doors are closed, those of us that have studios that we rent still have overheads to pay – rent, electricity, paying for the phone to be connected.” Ms Powell said the government’s support wouldn’t stretch far. “It’s all well and good to say there are support packages but they don’t cut it. They’re a small slice in a big pie.” She added the funding packages are not comprehensive enough and were difficult to apply for.
“It should be if your door is shut, here is some financial assistance,” she said. Like Mr Fallace, she too believes many theatre groups and studios won’t be able to come back this time. Hospitality has been another big loser over the pandemic, relegated to takeaway service only for much of the last 18 months. For Moe Grepo, owner of Sugar Buns in Hampton Park, that’s meant a big change to the way he does business. Ordinarily mainly a dine-in spot, Sugar Buns has pivoted to takeaway coffees, UberEats and Menulog orders. Every day that he opens, Mr Grepo said, he
runs at a loss. And the government’s business support packages won’t cover his overheads. Mr Grepo said the government should “tackle the real issues”. He suggested the government should cover the rent for small businesses and a percentage of staff wages for the duration of the lockdown, which would make a bigger difference for small businesses than the “handout” the government had so far offered. Mr Grepo hasn’t paid himself in five weeks, and he and his family are living off their savings. Continued page 4
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