Developing business in Cootamundra has been a priority since the abbattoir closures in March but empty shopfronts along Parker Street tell a different story.
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Owners, tenants and businesses alike are flummoxed by the absence of new stores along the main strip and one area in particular is causing concerns.
"We've had a dead zone in Cootamundra for quite a while now," admitted local property manager Debbie Taylor earlier this month.
This so-called “dead zone” refers to the strip of shopfronts between the Albion Hotel and Cathie’s Country Cuisine on the main strip.
Businesses naturally come and go but empty windows have dominated the strip for months on end.
"We've had a number of businesses through that area in the past," Ms Taylor said.
“But we haven’t had anything in for a while, maybe a year.”
Average rental prices vary between $220 to $250 per week in major foot traffic areas along Parker Street.
It's a figure that former tenant Dean Larkman believes is too high for local business owners.
"I used to have my juice bar down in that strip but it's just too much to pay," Mr Larkman said.
"Businesses in Cootamundra aren't generating large amounts of money and rental prices don't really match that incoming revenue.
“Paying upwards of $250-300 per week just rental, without GST, is a lot on money in town.
“I’m lucky in that my shop is the cheapest rental on the street.”
His shopfront successors, Darren Maxwell and Robyn Collins, were another brief tenancy but are more than happy in their new locale.
"It was absolutely dead in that section, nothing happening down there” they said.
“People would be hard pressed to walk down past the ANZ bank building," Mr Maxwell added
“Now we’re central and far more people are walking past.”
