Scrolling through the allbids.com.au auction site last week, I was stopped in my tracks and my heart skipped a beat when I saw bookcases and shop fittings for sale by the Beyond Q book store and cafe in Weston Creek. Surely, not another iconic Canberra business was closing?
Well,it seems that damn coronavirus might just have claimed another victim.
Simon Maddox, owner of Beyond Q, said the business was now a day-to-day proposition, with him likely to make a final decision on its future by the end of the month.
He said trade had been in a freefall since last summer's bushfire smoke kept people inside, followed by the coronavirus and forced social distancing, as well as leasing issues with the landlord, including getting an extension built on time.
"We've lost about 90 per cent of our income," he said. "So the chances of us surviving is pretty remote."
It's an invidious position for Mr Maddox, who opened the new store in Weston Creek in 2017, after being forced out of Curtin by a proposed redevelopment of the shopping centre.
Beyond Q has been around since the 1970s. Mr Maddox has owned if for 20 years, taking over in 2000.
Mr Maddox said the shop fittings for sale on Allbids were from the upstairs area, used for the collectables section and for a proposed licensed wine bar that would have been open at night. That area had been closed down and given back to the landlord.
The remainder of the shop was still trading. But for how much longer is unsure.
"It's pretty much day by day at the moment," he said.
"We've got 186,000 books, ephemera, printed material, and it's just.....The coronavirus has just topped everything. We would have survived without it, but it's looking dodgy at the moment."
Mr Maddox and his partner, Jenni Lawton, had big plans for the space, in the Weston Arcade, including classic film nights and the continuation of its popular comedy nights as well as live music.
"We put most of our assets into this because we enjoy what we do," he said.
"It's a lifestyle, not a job."
He felt the store, pre-coronavirus, had been embraced by the Weston Creek community.
"We were getting huge numbers of the older generation coming in during the week and then younger ones on the weekend," he said.
"We draw in probably 150, 200 people a week. We've had some Saturdays and Sundays when we've had 700 people come through. It's not insignificant."
The moral support of the customers was immeasurable.
"It's just so humbling working here," he said.
"The community has embraced the whole concept, what we planned to do."
The store had also been keen to given back, including collecting donations of masks and water during the bushfires for the firefighters.
"When they came to collect it, they thought they'd need a ute. They ended up bringing a five-tonne truck because we had so much stuff," he said.
If Beyond Q was to close, it would be another example of a much-loved Canberra business laid to waste by what has been a cruel six months, especially to the hospitality, retail and entertainment industries, first from the bushfires and smoke and now with the continuing pandemic.
The list now includes such names as Capitol Cinemas Manuka and Capital Pancakes in Civic, more commonly remembered as the Pancake Parlour. With them not only goes jobs and livelihoods, but memories and part of the social fabric of Canberra.
READ MORE:
- Call for ACT election to be delayed for a 'fair go'
- ACT tenancy mediation proves popular early
- How to prepare your kids for school's return
"We've got to make a decision by the end of this month," Mr Maddox said.
