‘Better late than never’: Beachside eateries wade through bloom
After the government’s dining cashback announcement this week, CityMag spoke to coastal hospitality businesses about “the waiting game” over the impact of SA’s algal bloom. Take our poll and tell us if you think $50 dining vouchers are enough.
Kuti Shack is located on the Goolwa Beach front and had a front row seat to the algal bloom when it started effecting the Fleurieu Peninsula in March.
“While that was happening, obviously it was really uncomfortable to be down here, the respiratory [impact] people coughing and sneezing and eye watering and all of that,” Kuti Shack co-owner Vanessa Button tells CityMag.
“We’re quite lucky, because our beach, the way that the waves and everything are, there wasn’t that kind of foam and inlet and dead fish and things as much as the coves are getting.
“It’s moved along, and unfortunately, it’s really hard-hitting city beaches at the moment, but it’s looking great here.
“I think our problem now is the perception, or the risk that people don’t want to come down to Goolwa in case the beach is gross.”
Further west, Shelly’s kiosk owner James Sacca agreed the perception of the bloom has the biggest impact on the Semaphore community.
“Down along all of the semaphore coastline, the beach is still beautiful and can be enjoyed and there’s green spaces, there’s playgrounds, there’s so much more for families down there,” James says.
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“I think that it’s disappointing to see all of the negative commentary towards the coastline.”
This perception impacting coastal businesses is a key target in the state government’s Summer Plan to tackle the bloom, with a $15 million focus on hospitality.
Premier Peter Malinauskas says the government’s new dining cashback scheme cast a wide net for eligibility to include places like Kuti Shack, which is still hit by perception even after the bloom cleared.
“They’ve suffered the effects of the algae, and then, in turn, the perception, and this comes back to the point that the perception is doing as much damage as the harmful algal bloom itself,” Malinauskas says.
Under the scheme, hospitality businesses register online to have their venue involved, and customers enter a draw to win a cashback code, which will allow them to get half their bill reimbursed – up to $50.
Then, diners go to the coastal restaurant, pay the bill in full, keep the receipt and redeem their cashback, which should be paid into their account within five business days.
Shadow Tourism Minister Penny Pratt says the relief for hospitality is long overdue but is concerned about potential cashback delays.
“Given we are in a cost-of-living crisis, it is a somewhat privileged view of the world to expect people to foot the bill upfront and wait for reimbursement later,” she says.
“We have seen very long delays with similar reimbursement initiatives. A traditional voucher scheme may have been more successful and have encouraged more South Australians to support the pubs, cafes and restaurants along our coast who really need it.”
But Vanessa isn’t phased, and is eager to sign up Kuti Shack for the program.
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“Even though we’re only an hour from the city, it still is a day trip, and you don’t want to go out for a day if you know the weather’s going to be bad, for example,” she says.
“So it’s giving people that assurance or a little bit of an incentive to come and give it a go without wasting their day or spending too much money.”
Closer to the city, Henley House managing partner Racquel Kulerski says she is still waiting to see what the bloom does, but agrees the incentive is enough to get people to the beach.
“Until summer hits, I think we’ll probably have a better gauge as to how [algal bloom] may affect us, so it’s a bit of a waiting game,” she says.
“I think [the cashback program] is a little bit late in the way that it’s landed, but I think better late than never in the grand scheme of things,” she says.
“If people are willing to get on board and embrace it, I think it’ll be really beneficial for everyone involved.”
EMBR Hospitality – which owns Oliveti and Spread at Glenelg – director Sam Worrall-Thompson agrees it’s a waiting game, and says it’s another way hospitality has to adapt.
“I’ll have a really good gauge in the next month if it hurts sales at all because I think since the weather’s just come nice, like now, we’ve had an amazing two weeks, but having said that, we are generally busy in school holidays,” Sam says.
“I don’t think it’s affecting the walkers; we get a massive coffee crowd early in the morning. It’s just the new norm.
“There’s always a variable in hospitality I feel, you think about, what, it’s been six years almost since Covid, then cost of living. I feel like everyone’s adjusted to the new style of Adelaide.”
Businesses can register for the cashback scheme from Monday, October 20.
There are 300,000 cashback offers, with a first-round public ballot for 60,000 opening on Monday, November 3, and to be drawn on Monday, November 10.
The dining cashbacks for the first 60,000 South Australians have to be used by December 7.
