Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has revealed Brisbane’s economic recovery is gathering pace with more than 850 new cafes, restaurants and other food business opening across the city so far this year.Cr Schrinner said the investment in new food businesses by hundreds of owners shows strong confidence in Brisbane’s future and is creating thousands of jobs.
“Brisbane’s food scene has done it really tough throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
“Most of us will know of a café or restaurant that has closed its door permanently which is very sad for those owners and workers.
“However, these figures demonstrate that people are investing in new food businesses which means there’s growing confidence in Brisbane and that’s fantastic.
“They show that on average three new cafes and restaurants are opening in Brisbane every day which is great for jobs and excellent for our residents and visitors.
“But it’s not all smooth sailing for the industry. They’re still subject to restrictions and at risk of further lockdowns.
“What they need is a plan that details when restrictions will be lifted and when the Queensland border will reopen so they can welcome back customers from interstate.”
Cr Schrinner said rate of the new food businesses opening had returned to pre-pandemic levels with 852 so far this year compared to 849 over the same period in 2019.
He said while many food businesses had opened in the CBD, Fortitude Valley and other inner-city areas, about 80 per cent of the new café, restaurants, delis and bakeries were in Brisbane’s suburbs.
“As Brisbane’s food scene has grown and demand to be able to do things like grab a coffee or eat out locally has increased, more cafes and restaurants have opened in our suburbs,” Cr Schrinner said.
“Great food precincts outside the traditional inner city, like Sunnybank, have also flourished which is fantastic.
“The work-from-home phenomena would have helped some cafes during the pandemic.
“But I believe the emergence of more food options in our suburbs was happening anyway and I’m confident this trend will continue and make Brisbane even better.”
Cr Schrinner encouraged owners to upload the details of their food business on the new official Brisbane App, which was launched recently as an economic recovery measure.
“The number of downloads and engagement with the official Brisbane App has exceeded all of our expectations which is a great result,” he said.
“Being on the Brisbane App puts businesses on the map.
“It’s a free way to promote your business and owners can continually upload new information and photographs to let their dedicated customers know about specials and other offers.”
Visit www.adrianschrinner.com.au/brisbane-news to keep up to date with what’s happening in Brisbane.
