Popular Canberra restaurant shuts its doors
A beloved Canberra restaurant will close its doors after 11 years of service.
Running Italian restaurant Chez Freds has been a "constant struggle since COVID," owner Sara Poguet told The Canberra Times.
"It was just too hard to play catch up," she said.
"The rising cost of food, alcohol, wages, utilities, rents. I had to make the decision before being one of those businesses that go into insolvency."
According to CreditorWatch the outlook for the hospitality sector in 2025 is quite bleak, with several expected to become insolvent in the first half of 2025.
Chez Freds' running costs have increased by 50 per cent in the last two years at a time when customers are spending less.
"Every single thing ... has risen dramatically in the last two years," Poguet said.
"In the 11 years of running a business, since COVID has just been astounding: I have no words for how difficult it is."
Given the wafer thin margins hospitality businesses operate on, it is no surprise another has fallen as consumer spending dropped by 1.8 per cent in December.
Poguet noticed her customers would reduce spending every time they visited.
"Customers who would usually order an entree, main, dessert and a glass of wine are now just sharing an entree, getting a main each and then sharing a dessert," she said.
"That's the heartbreaking thing, seeing spending habits shift so much."
She said reduced parking on Lonsdale St has also impacted her business.
"I have lost such a high amount of customers who used to drop through to pick up takeaway of an evening, but now just can't because it's impossible to get a carpark.
"All the roadworks that went on, we had fencing up all outside our businesses for months."
Pguet saw the writing on the wall during Summernats.
"Unfortunately, there was just a massive influx of food trucks [and] they're allowed to sit on private property. So that was a bit devastating," Poguet said.
The restaurant served its final meal last Wednesday.
Jonathan Jackson, 27th January 2024
