Lockdown ‘seesaw’ forces popular Melbourne cafe to shut its doors
A mainstay of Melbourne’s cafe scene has shut its doors.
The original Hardware Societie store on Hardware Lane in the CBD has closed.
The owners say the uncertainty surrounding lockdowns has made it unfeasible to operate two cafes in the city.
“You can’t just be on a seesaw,” co-owner of the cafe, Di Keser, told Dee Dee.
“You’re open one day, closed the next.
“We’ll shutter the doors and hope in six months things turn around and we can reopen, but right now it’s a pandemic and there’s no guarantees.”
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Ms Keser says the decision to close the cafe’s original branch, which has been open for almost 12 years, is “heartbreaking”.
She’s “really angry” with the state government, and she hopes the cafe’s closure brings more attention to plight of small businesses.
“It’s a really, really frustrating time to be in small business,” she said.
“Where’s the support?”
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