Traders in Sydney’s once-thriving The Rocks precinct have been left in limbo as it deals with tough times and a hodgepodge of initiatives.
Chris Kriketos is one of these traders.
Mr Kriketos was told that his family business, Bakers Oven Cafe, would have to go to public tender to renew its lease with Placemaking NSW after almost 40 years in the district.
This happened at the same time the cafe was dealing with revenues falling 60 percent due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Daily Telegraph reports.
A key issue for many businesses in The Rocks is the ownership of property in the district – much of which is leasehold and owned by the NSW state government.
Placemaking NSW is a state government advisory committee formed last year to provide “strategic advice” on the management of precincts like The Rocks and Darling Harbour.
But Mr Kriketos told The Daily Telegraph that renegotiating the lease with Placemaking NSW for his family’s cafe was just another hurdle after a stressful year.
“We’ve had so much stress over the last two years going through this Covid storm… This is just another hurdle thrown in front of us,” Mr Kriketos told the media outlet.
Mr Kriketos said the family business, started by his father, was concerned about a lack of tenure and hadn’t yet decided what to do.
“We want a longer lease tenure, another 5-15 years, but they’re offering nothing and saying the space has got to go up for tender,” he concluded.
Only time will tell what the final outcome for this much-loved family business will be.
Source: The Daily Telegraph.
