King William Rd upgrade behind decision to close Adelaide bakery

Major roadworks in Adelaide have forced a popular bakery to close down one of its stores.

Speaking to The Advertiser, Dulwich Bakery owner Wayne Duffy said the start of the $15.5 million nine-month upgrade of King William Rd coupled with stagnant trade has forced the closure of his Hyde Park outlet. He also believes more businesses will soon follow.

“This closure will dint my business overall, but I’ve spoken to sole operators who believe this project will devastate them,” Duffy said.

“The only ones that will survive are the ones who will work very long hours and don’t pay themselves a proper wage.”

Duffy was critical of Unley Council over its lack of action on “meaningful financial assistance to appease traders”.

“I’m really disappointed Unley decided they are going to do this upgrade regardless and were not going to assist traders with rate relief,” he said.

“Everyone knows the road is not trading well and this is a much tougher time in retail than during the world financial crisis.

“When I took on the lease two years ago I thought it was time for Hyde Park to begin to improve — but it has continued to decline.”

Duffy is looking on the bright side though, opening of a new shop at Mount Barker, fitted out from the Hyde Park business.

“Mount Barker is a growing town and we’re in a Foodland strip where all traders have had a double digit boost in trading in the past 12 months,” he said.

Unley chief executive Peter Tsokas said council had been informed the Dulwich Bakery was listed for sale six months ago.

“We are sad to hear of any business closing in the Unley Council area and wish Mr Duffy all the best with future endeavours, understanding this is a difficult and stressful decision to make,” Tsokas told The Advertiser.

“One-on-one visits have occurred with businesses leading up the works, including speaking onsite with the manager of (the) Dulwich Bakery and visits will continue during the works program.”

Sheridan Randall, 27^th June 2019