Popular Beerwah business set to close citing unsustainable economic environment
By Sonia Isaacs
AFTER 10 years of serving locals at its Simpson Street location, popular Beerwah café, Vianta, will close its doors due to mounting economic challenges.
Co-owner Steve Moon said a “catalogue of circumstances” had led to the decision.
“It just all became too much,” he said.
Mr Moon cited increasingly tough financial pressures as the key reason for the closure, set for November 24.
The news that the Vianta premises would face a significant rent hike earlier this year was a final blow.
Mr Moon expressed his heartbreak over the decision. “We’ve been here for 10 years and evolving. Vianta closing means Beerwah will be losing a community centre,” he said. “This was a place that people could come and feel valued and cared for.”
The post-COVID period had been particularly difficult, with soaring costs of goods, fresh produce, and wages, coupled with the relentless expenses of running a small business.
“Everything has gone up.
We cook everything fresh; we’re not a franchise with massive buying power,” he said.
“These are all costs we’ve had to absorb.
“We’re not in Noosa or New Farm—we can’t keep passing the costs onto our Beerwah customers,” he added.
Mr Moon acknowledged that he wasn’t alone in facing these challenges, noting that many local business owners were in the same boat.
“There are plenty of other business owners in town who are finding it just as tough.”
The Vianta building changed hands earlier this year, with Mr Moon informed that the rent would rise in line with commercial property rates on the Sunshine Coast.
He said he had benefited from a “very favourable private agreement,” but the new lease terms, coupled with other economic pressures, made the business untenable.
“To meet the current premium commercial rates, I’d need to charge prices that would be completely unacceptable for our community,” he said.
Mr Moon added that higher property values were pushing rents to unsustainable levels.
“The current prices are so out of balance with the returns for small businesses.
That’s why there’s so many empty shops,” he said.
“Running a café is nearly impossible in the current environment.
For small businesses – hairdressers, cafés, food outlets – there’s no money to be made.
It’s done out of a passion for making a difference in the community.”