THE shopkeepers of William Street are grateful for the support of locals as major construction continues in the Beaudesert CBD to fix the town’s drainage problems.
The ‘Support our CBD’ initiative – a shop local campaign strongly supported by the Beaudesert Bulletin to help businesses impacted by the construction – is one way the community is banding together to help local businesses.
The drainage upgrades are expected to last until March, leaving the CBD as a construction zone for the time being.
With road closures and limited on-street parking dating back to April 2024, business owners want the public to know that they are still open and appreciate local support.
Major impacts
Bean to? Café owner Kylie Peterson said the roadworks were having a negative impact on her business.
She said sales had dropped drastically since the roadworks began and she was finding it difficult to maintain stability.
“Our biggest sales weeks have become nothing. Our weekends have probably lost 50 per cent of sales, and our general week-to-week sales, we’ve lost about 40 per cent,” Kylie said.
“We’re trying to stay open; we’re trying to keep our head above the water, but it’s getting really difficult.”
Kylie’s daughter Georgia Howell works with customers more frequently than Kylie and has seen the change in sales.
“We’re still pretty busy in the mornings – it hasn’t changed too much, but our day sales have dropped significantly,” Georgia said.
They also noticed an increase in takeaway orders as some customers have decided not to dine in due to limited parking and excessive noise.
“I’ve got customers that say to us, ‘We’ve done three laps around and we can’t get a park, so we just kept driving.’ That’s a missed opportunity for us,” Kylie said.
“It’s a really lovely place to sit and have your lunch, but it’s not good at the moment at all.”
The most common complaint the mother-daughter duo receive is the lack of parking spaces available for their café.
They’re also worried that the detours provided by the roadworks are sending potential customers away from the CBD altogether.
“You get the customers that come every day, but it’s the ones that come from out of town that see the roadworks and they’ve got to detour and keep driving,” Kylie said.
“They just completely miss this whole section of the street. We don’t get the people who are driving by and see there’s a café there,” Georgia said.
Being in Beaudesert for 39 years, Kylie knows the importance of supporting local businesses and hopes the community can do the same regardless of roadwork disturbances.
“We’ve got beautiful customers and returning customers. It’s not all doom and gloom, it’s just difficult times at the moment,” she said.
“We just don’t know what the solution is.”
A worthy investment
Veresdale Vintage owner Fiona Jones sees the road upgrades as complementary to their new store as it shows the growth and beauty of Beaudesert.
“I’m excited about how it’s going to look in the end and I think Beaudesert is going to look beautiful once they’ve finished,” she said.
Opening two weeks before Christmas, Fiona was chuffed to take the opportunity to have her antique shop in the CBD, even amid ongoing construction.
“We just love Beaudesert, and the opportunity was here for us with the store. We grabbed hold of it as soon as we could,” Fiona said.
“The image that the roadworks will give in the long run only complements this store. It’s attractive as you come into town and then we have this – it’s complementary to us.”
Friend and co-worker Christie Wagner found that customers have only struggled with finding parking.
“Parking has always been a bit of a problem, especially with the roadworks, but it’s got to be done,” she said.
“People are understanding. I honestly have not heard a complaint about the parking,” Fiona said.
As a local shopper herself, Fiona encourages everyone to shop locally as it only benefits the town.
“Shopping local is so important to keep the vibrancy of the town and have opportunities,” she said.
“If we don’t shop local, then you don’t get shops.”
