Block Arcade's owners ready for Melbourne CBD to reawaken
Four months after describing Melbourne as “a bit of a ghost town”, Block Arcade manager Grant Cohen is preparing for shoppers to return to the once bustling city centre and its most famous retail arcade.
Mr Cohen, whose family owns the 128-year-old mall on the corner of Collins and Elizabeth streets, has spent the past four months since the second lockdown crippled the city rejuvenating the ornate mall, while providing rental support to its mix of exclusive luxury retailers, all of whom are now open and trading.
“The place looks extraordinary, like it’s just been built,” he told The Australian Financial Review.
Mr Cohen is also preparing to reopen the mall’s most famous establishment, its 128-year-old tea rooms where, before the pandemic, tourists used to queue around the block for a table and posed for photos in front of its window filled with decadent cakes.
Following a bitter legal dispute with the previous owners of the tea rooms, the Cohen family have decided to run the cafe themselves.
“We want to control our own destiny, we don’t want a repeat performance of what happened,” Mr Cohen said.
Previously called the Hopetoun Tea Rooms (that name was bought by businessman Vikram Singh), the cafe will open on December 1 under a new name, The Block Arcade Tea Rooms 1892.
“It’s just a rebranding of the name. It’s the same walls and all that history.”
Mr Cohen has retained much of the tearoom’s former staff, including its savoury and pastry chefs, so guests will again enjoy its pavlovas, crumbles and scones. Experienced Melbourne cafe owner Maria Gerolemou will manage the tea rooms.
“We’re planning to extend the tea rooms into the arcade with tables and chairs down the Collins Street wing and under the dome.
“We’ve also applied for a liquor licence so you can enjoy high tea with a glass of Chandon.”
Mr Cohen said he believed the city would not just come back to life “but explode” with activity once workers and tourists were allowed to return.
“The CBD will come back better than ever. It has its own very special DNA, which separates it from other shopping precincts: heritage, culture, food and entertainment.”
With the virus now well under control, and a vaccine solution on the cards, other retailers are preparing for the city to come back to life with new leasing deals.
Gelato chain Piccolina Gelateria will open two new stores in December in Melbourne’s famous laneways – one at 32 Degraves Street and another at 43 Hardware Lane.
“There are some great initiatives and much support from the local government for traders. It’s going to be tough but I have faith and believe that our beautiful city will return,” said founder Sandra Foti.
At Equitable Place, another Melbourne laneway, a seven-square-metre unused lift shaft has been leased to Mörk Chocolate Brew House in a $17,000-a-year deal negotiated by Fitzroys agent James Lockwood.
Mr Lockwood said the tenant was not alone in looking for hole-in-the-wall opportunities.
“We actually had five offers on the property, highlighting the amount of tenants looking to secure a space like this. It’s likely there will be more types of these deals going forward,” he said.
Melbourne CBD leasing specialist Zelman Ainsworth said retailers of all sorts were starting to revisit the city centre as confidence returned.
“Having a unique proposition focused on customer services is pivotal at the moment,” he said.
