It’s an open and shut case

We take a look at busine sses that opened and shut doors.

THIS year the Clarence has experience d multiple iconic busine ss closure s. But it hasn’t been all doom and gloom, we have also had some wonderful additions . Here is a list of some of the busine ssclosure sandopenin gs which made headli nes in 2018, from food emporium s to retail outlets to banks.

 

CLOSED

THE BOTTOM PUB (CLARENCE HOTEL), MACLEAN

The Clarence Hotel in Ma- clean suffered major damage as a storm ripped its roof off, causing power lines to fall over the street. It closed indefinitely in January.

SEW EXCITED

Sew Excited in Maclean has a long history of providing sew- ing and patchwork supplie s and classe s to the communit y but because owner Nel Mathe- son needed a knee replace- ment and wanting to retire be- fore she turns 70 this year, she cease d tradin g on March 31.

NAB,MACLEAN

NAB Maclean closed its doors on Thursda y, May 31. NAB head of retail custom- ers regional NSW/A CT Jackie Connors saidbackinMarchit’s because customers shown a strong preference for using other branche s, or online bankin g. “At the moment , 81 per cent of Maclean customers do their bankin g in other locations, ” she said.

RP WALTERS BUTCHERY

Perched on the corner at 1 Clyde St Maclean, Ross Jones will take a break from the RP Walters butchery, first owne d by his grandfather Robert Per- cival Walters in 1947, and later his father Sid Jones. Yamba Fair Butchery took over the space in July.

ANZCLOSURE,YAMBA

The bank closed in October and was described as a blow for local businesses. But ANZ district manager Cheryl Patterson said bank customers were increasingly choosing online options and ATMs to do their banking. “Of our customers who have Yamba as their home branch, only 17 per cent of them currently use the branch with 64 per cent of them preferring internet or mobile banking,” she said back in July.

NORTH GRAFTON GENERAL STORE–‘THE HOSPITAL SHOP’

‘The Hospital Shop’, which has been a family-owned institution on Grafton Base Hospital grounds for decades, ceased trading on August 31. Owners Marie and Craig Howe conceded that a number of factors,including the inability to sell sugared soft drinks and no long-term guarantee from Northern NSW Local Health District contributed to the closure.

MCD ONA LD’S GRAFTON SHOPPING WORLD

The store cease d tradin g in November and franchisee Da- vid Munro said it was due to a failure of the two parent com- panie s to agree on new lease arrangements.

KEZZA’S ON BENT

Kezza’s on Bent closed in No- vember due to personal rea- sons.

OPENINGS

SUNRISE ON TURF

Owners Amy Bultitud e and herhusband Micha eltookover Sunrise on Turf opening in Ja- nuary of this year after pur- chasin g the busine ss last year. “I’ve been a chef for over 10 years and I’ve manage d cafes and all of that sort of thing. Mi- chael was ready to take a step back in his career and after having babie s, I was ready to put my career first and this just came up and it’s been full steamahead, ”Amysaidbackin January.

BURRITO BAR IN GRAFTON SHOPPING WORLD

The bar is a modern Tex-mex style of cooking and opened in Grafton Shopping world in January.

SPORTS POWER

Grafton Sports power owner Mark Sullivan shut up shop on February 25. The business then changed hands to Sporting retailer Sports power Super Warehouse, to 137 Prince St, by Mr Reeve and his family,who own a chain of long-standing sporting retail outlets in Lismore, Ballina and Coffs Harbour.

SASS BOUTIQUE

A move back to Grafton saw Susan Wratten go from working on cattle stations to opening her own clothing boutique on Prince St where she opened Sass Boutique back in September.

THE FAIR BUTCHERY, MACLEAN

There may be a new look to the inside of the old Rp Walters Butchery with The Fair Butchery taking over in Maclean in September.

MUMMA BEAR’S CAFE PATISSERIE

Mumma Bear’s opened in Grafton in July. With an eye for detail, it features quilted seats, teddy bear doorstops,even the hot beverages are served with a chocolate powder bear on the froth.

WHALEN’S BUTCHER

For years, the butcher shop near the old Albion Hotel has remained dormant. But now, a little bit of life has returned to the store with owner Greg Whalen opened the doors of the refurbished butchery once again in Grafton in October.

DEOSA WHOLE FOODS

The new Deosa Wholefood’s store re-opened in November after an extensive refurbishment on Prince Stwhich added a juicebar and a kitchen where they will produce healthy meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner that people can pick up and take home.

TARTAN PIZZA

Tartan Pizza shop owners Shane Obrist and Damian Sowerbutts opened the muchloved Tartan pizza in November.

BLACK SWAN

Located in the heart of Maclean,only opened this month, this Polish and German restaurant introduced a cuisine not yet in Maclean.