New business owner Ben Yi said he would be disappointed to have to relocate his Asian Grocer, in light of a proposal to demolish the Tod Street shops. PHOTO: Ellouise Crawford
SOME business owners within the Tod Street retail precinct have already began their search for an alternate site, while others are only just coming to terms with news their current premises is likely to be demolished.
A development application for a brand new Aldi supermarket, at 5-7 Tod Street, has been lodged with the State Planning Commission, and was last week made public.
Speaking with local shop owners on Friday, The Bunyip understands several only found out by word-of-mouth, while others knew something was in the works when offered short rental leases.
Currently, seven businesses occupy two groups of shops as part of the Tod Street retail site earmarked for demolition.
They include SDA Tax & Advisory, Lifeline, Gawler Flooring Xtra, Yoga + Wellbeing, Getta Bargain, and most recently, the Animal Welfare League thrift shop and Ben Yi’s Asian Grocer.
Business owner Ben Yi said news of another supermarket had come as a surprise, and he would be sad to see less space for small business within Gawler.
The Gawler local of eight years only opened his Asian grocer last year, and said the existing site offered convenient parking and a central location.
“I’m new here and it does take time to take off and to do well,” he said.
“So, I think at this stage it’s very important that I’m feeling quite stable and secure in the sense of where I don’t have to move from one place to another.
“I always wanted to do this (business) so it’s very close to my heart.”
Mr Yi said small businesses helped create a sense of community and there needed to be more support for people like himself, when it comes to starting out.
“I feel Gawler needs more variety and not just big supermarkets,” he said.
“People aren’t always brave enough to do the businesses they are passionate about; I think there should be more opportunities and more support, and more options in regards to locations and places to rent.”
Aldi’s application asks the State Planning Commission to grant consent for the store for seven years, rather than the default two “in order to accommodate a number of existing leases”.
