Yahoo Finance Iconic Bondi cafe collapses over $10 fee furore as cost of living batters industry: 'Survival mode'
A cafe nestled in Sydney's Bondi Icebergs has shut after customers were forced to pay to enter.
The Crabbe Hole Cafe on iconic Bondi Beach has shutdown after 17 years. The owner claimed a $10 fee imposed on customers to stop them from entering Icebergs pool was the cause.
Andrew Crabbe said he was forced to close the doors after he lost about a quarter of his customers. This comes at a time Australian Restaurant & Cafe Association CEO Wes Lambert told Yahoo Finance that many venues are already on their knees.
"It was all a bit quick and I never got to say goodbye to any of you,' Crabbe said
"I’m sorry I never managed to sort the $10 entry fee debacle. It was my undoing at the end."
Those wanting to take a dip in the picturesque oceanside pool need to fork out $10 for the pleasure.
But after a long-standing policy to allow cafe patrons to enter without a fee was changed, Crabbe said his business was devastated.
"They maintain that it had no effect on my patronage," Crabbe said.
"My figures prove otherwise. I shall miss seeing you."
RELATED
$1,144 Centrelink cost-of-living cash boost for millions next month
Top 10 highest paying jobs for Aussies right now: ‘$236,000 a year’
Cost-of-living pushes Aussie businesses into 'survival mode'
The closure comes at a time when Australian hospitality venues are shutting at an unprecedented rate.
Customers are pulling back on spending as inflation remains high and business owners are not immune to cost-of-living pressures, with rent, supplies and wages pushing them to the brink.
"For an industry that has been under threat for nearly all of 2024 any further decrease in spending will certainly push more businesses to the walls," Lambert told Yahoo Finance.
He highlighted a recent report from CreditorWatch that indicated one in every 11 hospitality businesses are expected to close their doors forever in the next 12 months.
"For many of the businesses that have unfortunately closed in 2024, they are saying that these are the worst conditions that they have ever seen, sometimes in a 30 or 40-year career," he explained to Yahoo Finance.
"The owners of hospitality businesses around Australia are often mum and dad businesses ... many are barely even making the minimum award rate. Some are working for free."
Brisbane cafe owner Adam Thomson told Yahoo Finance the "heavy toll" the cost of living was having on his business, forcing him to work long hours at cut-rate wages.
"I work six days a week ... We pay ourselves less than the award wage to be here because, at the end of the day, it's just been a matter of matter of survival," he said.
"The last year has been just survival mode."
The average business failure forecast across all industries is 5.1 per cent.
'Delusional': Customers mourn loss of iconic spot
Customers expressed their upset after learning of the closure, some even noting the fee would be an issue for them.
“I am sorry about the regrettable entrance fee. It was delusional to not think it would not have impacted the cafe. It’s truly their loss, and, ours too," one said.
“Devastating — our happy place in Bondi...Icebergs was indeed lucky to have you. An entry fee impacting cafe access definitely changes everything," noted another.
Bondi Icebergs Winter Swimming Club, which owns the site, allegedly imposed the fee to close a loophole being used by customers to bypass their own entry charge.
