Back in February this year, the historic Sydney Building in Canberra’s CBD experienced a fire which devastated many of the businesses in the area. The fire originated from Coo – the Japanese Izakaya restaurant – and investigations have indicated that a gas leak may have caused the explosion.
Several weeks on, how are these businesses coping? Has life returned back to normal? Reports suggest that Verity Lane remains closed and will take a while to reopen which has repercussions for all surrounding businesses.
Tossolini’s stated that they lost their lunch and dinner trade when the whole of Bailey’s Corner on London Circuit was closed for the day following the blaze. They have since found that the restaurant has not been as busy as it was prior to the fire.
The popular bar and nightclub Mooseheads reported that they were shut for two days before getting the ‘all clear’ to resume trading. When asked whether life was back to normal their response detailed that business is, “Slowly getting there.” Mooseheads stated they had experienced difficulties in attracting foot traffic though, as the area remains blocked-off and has particularly affected their night trade.
A Mooseheads spokesperson suggested that patrons may have been put off by the lack of lighting in the area and the boarded up windows of surrounding businesses. In order to recover from the ill-effects of the fire, Mooseheads said they had been implementing some advertising measures in order to help the business get back to normal. The spokesperson stated that another business on London Circuit London Burgers and Beers had been hit particularly hard and were still shut. Zen Yai Thai Restaurant had only been able to reopen last week.
A discussion with the proprietors of Salsabor dance studio detailed they had a week off after the fire during which time they were able to find a new venue for all their scheduled classes – thankfully meaning no students were lost during this time. Salsabor reported that it will take approximately a year and a half to rebuild the studio so, in the meantime, they have relocated to a venue in City Walk.
This new space officially opens this Friday (11 April) and Salsabor thank the wider community for all their support. In particular, Salsabor give their thanks to the dance community who assisted them in holding a ‘Zumbathon’ fundraiser to help move into their new home.
Salsabor acknowledge their luck in being able to resume business so quickly, understanding that it is harder for some of the restaurants in the area to quickly move to a new location in the city. When asked about the surrounding businesses, Salabor reported that Alices’s restaurant and Dina’s Bottle Shop had closed and Salsabor’s neighbouring dance business was “completely obliterated” leaving only a 4 square foot of floor space left.
In reference to East Row, the spokesperson stated that, “There’s pretty much nothing there.” The owners really feel for the people affected and state that the fire was such a “horrible thing to happen to good people.” Salsabor urges people not to forget the businesses that were affected by this fire when they do start operating again.
From these reports of affected businesses it is evident that it may take some time for businesses to reopen their doors and allow the Sydney Building to return to its bustling and vibrant state.
Sydney Building image courtesy National Archives of Australia, A3560, 1024
