A Melbourne restaurateur has slammed claims city activity has returned to pre-pandemic levels, and has coined the CBD a “ghost town” that is “derelict” after walking along its very empty streets.
Lino Scidone, who owns some of Southgate’s most acclaimed diners and bars, says he is “sick and tired” of talks the “city is back”, when all he sees are lease boards and minimal foot traffic.
The entrepreneur who has been operating his businesses in Southbank for 21 years, walked around Melbourne on Tuesday in a bid to prove his claims that the city is dead.
“I walk this city just about every day and feel its soul being sucked out of it,” he said in a Facebook post.
Mr Scidone strolled down what used to be some of the city’s busiest streets, including Elizabeth Street which, according to the City of Melbourne’s website, is one of the most “significant” streets in the CBD.
“It is an entrance to Melbourne’s central retail area and a primary city transport route,” the council website states, noting it’s currently undergoing works to improve and “extend the quality of Melbourne’s retail heart”.
However, Mr Scidone found nothing “significant” about it, other than capturing photos of about 20 lease boards and a decent amount of foot traffic compared to the other streets he visited.
“There were people today vacating, which I thought was rude to take a photo of because I know how that feels,” he said.
The La Camera and Waterslide Bar owner then took his travels down Swanston Street – a major thoroughfare in the centre of the CBD that intersects with Flinders Street and is known for its heritage buildings and tram corridor.
“I walked …(and saw) Woolworths Metro had vacated along with at least another dozen stores with lease boards,” Mr Scidone said.
He proceeded to the home of his businesses in Southbank, where he labelled the food court “depressing”, before calling Docklands “armageddon”.
“The towers are empty, the offices are empty. If we don’t get people back to work and you want to see what our city will look like, go for a walk to Docklands, that’s armageddon,” he said.
“No one is immune. The only reason we are still open is because of the understanding of our landlord or I would be a statistic too.
“If we are not going to get people back into the offices, someone needs to tell us so then we can make the hard decisions that need to be made or they will eventually be made for us anyway.”
Over 1500 business spaces available in CBD
According to Domain’s commercial real estate website, there are 265 offices, serviced offices and shop and retail stores available for sale in the CBD postcode 3000. There are an additional 1398 commercial properties up for lease in the same vicinity.
Meanwhile, a survey by the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has found 41 per cent of employees work in the office two days a week, while 28 per cent work between three and four days from their workplace.
Additionally, just under 60 per cent of employers have introduced a minimum number of days employees are required to come into the office.
To entice workers to return to the office, employers are offering free coffees or lunches, subsidised transport, social incentives, wellbeing sessions and in person catch ups.
However these incentives aren’t working for 12 per cent of the Melbourne workforce who have continued to permanently work from home despite pandemic restrictions being lifted.
The survey found the cost of public transport, fuel and parking, commute time, at-home duties, possibility of getting Covid-19, work-life balance and the attractiveness of the city was preventing Melburnians from returning to the office full-time.
“I‘ve been there 20-odd years. I know (Lord Mayor) Sally Capp. I think she’s got her heart in the right place. I think she’s trying,” Mr Scidone told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell on Wednesday.
“(But) I put a post up yesterday and had thousands of people call me and write on my post (saying) how right I am … There‘s thousands of metres of retail space derelict.”
Lack of demand forcing businesses into administration
Mr Scidone’s comments come off the back of one of Melbourne’s top restaurants going into administration, with Calia Australia calling in insolvency experts on June 28.
The business was opened in 2016 and was popular with well-heeled Melburnians who adored its Michelin-starred inspired menu.
But the pressures of repeated lockdowns and soaring prices proved too much to bear and the company was forced into administration, the Herald Sun reports.
“Similar to many small hospitality businesses in Melbourne, the past few years have brought significant challenges to our company due to the impacts of Covid,” Jason Chang, who co-owns Calia with Ricky Thien, said in a statement.
“Calia is working closely with Jirsch Sutherland to actively explore solutions as it relates to both customers and key stakeholders.
“Calia venues are currently operating as normal, and are fully committed to providing regular updates to all stakeholders as it works through the voluntary administration process.”
According to News Corp’s analysis of Insolvency Notices and ABN Lookup data, 118 businesses that are primarily located in the postcode 3000 have entered liquidation in the last 12 months.
Despite Mr Scidone’s videos showing little foot traffic in the CBD, the City of Melbourne says general pedestrian activity near Town Hall was at 103 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
In comparison, pedestrian activity near State Government offices close to Collins Place and Lonsdale Street-Spring Street was at 60 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
“Melbourne is a city like no other. It’s Australia’s most popular destination for interstate visitors, it’s the third most liveable city in the world, and we are also ranked as the friendliest city!” Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp told news.com.au.
“General pedestrian activity from Monday to Sunday is at 103 per cent of benchmark levels, meaning there are no ghosts in Melbourne.”
“Evening foot traffic continues to soar above benchmark levels in areas like Chinatown, Southbank and Carlton.”
The Council is working to improve foot traffic even further with the help of a new City Economy Advisory Committee, which will be made up of business experts who will discuss new ways to entice people to visit the city.
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“We’ve already attracted record crowds through events like Moomba, The Australian Open, Rising, the Grand Prix, Ed Sheeran, while activations like mid-week Melbourne Money and the Shopfront Activation Program attracted thousands to our municipality,” the Lord Mayor said.
“Melbourne is the place to be, and we will be delivering more reasons than ever for people to live, work and stay in this vibrant metropolis.”
The City of Melbourne is continuing to back the hospitality and retail sector, with an additional $540,000 to reduce shopfront vacancies. It’s also delivering a record $28.2 million events calendar to attract new visitors while delivering economic benefits to traders.
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