Garema Place upgrade welcomed by hospitality businesses amid 'challenging times'

It comes amid a challenging time for Canberra's hospitality industry and recent high-profile business closures.

The government's City Renewal Authority launched public consultation on the proposal in late March, revealing plans to improve safety, accessibility and general appeal at Garema Place.

Michael and Peter Harrington, owners of Mexican bar and restaurant Loquita in Garema Place, said the upgrade was long overdue.

But the brothers said the proposal came as a surprise. Bizarrely, their business was listed as 'vacant' on the publicly released design documents.

"We're 100 per cent aligned with the rejuvenation of Garema Place, it just needs to be done in close collaboration with the stakeholders in the area to make sure that it works for them," Peter said.

They've since been contacted by the authority to discuss the changes and how the upgrades will impact their business.

Bar Beirut co-owner Chantelle Tannous said she was excited to see the attention turned to Garema Place and hoped it would attract more hospitality venues to the area.

"Being the city centre it should be a vibrant and dynamic space but unfortunately over time it has become an embarrassment," she said.

Mrs Tannous said the business was given "advance warning" about the proposal when a flyer was dropped off at the venue last week. She has since contacted the City Renewal Authority to discuss the proposal.

A spokesperson for the City Renewal Authority said all Garema Place businesses were contacted as of Friday, March 31 and it was now "consulting with local business".

"The feedback received so far has been largely positive and is consistent with community and business feedback received over the past few years on the need to revitalise Garema Place," the spokesperson said.

On why Loquita was not listed on the plans, the spokesperson said the documents were not exhaustive and required some minor updates.

"At the time of preparing the map, the space upstairs from Loquita was vacant and is now occupied by Blue Eyes bar. This map does require minor updates, which we are undertaking now," the spokesperson said.

The authority said Garema Place property owners were contacted last year as part of community consultation.

Maintaining private outdoor dining spaces was the main priority for the owners of Bar Beirut and Loquita.

The City Renewal Authority's initial plans show new outdoor dining areas are a focus for the upgrades, however it was unclear if they were public spaces or private spaces for individual businesses.

"If it has to look different that's totally fine, if that's with the overall aesthetic, but we obviously just want to make sure that we have that private dining space," Mrs Tannous said.

The Harrington brothers said they had spent close to a year negotiating with the government on Loquita's outdoor dining space, which was initially not compliant with government regulations.

The pair were in the process of submitting an application for an entirely new outdoor dining space, but said those plans were now uncertain due to the broader upgrades under way.

The City Renewal Authority said new public dining spaces were proposed in the designs, but ultimately businesses were responsible for their own dining spaces.

"While local businesses are responsible for their private outdoor dining spaces - and these are subject to regulations - we will work with local business owners who wish to create new outdoor dining experiences to further benefit from a revitalised Garema Place," the spokesperson said.

The lack of consultation on the Garema Place upgrades spoke to a broader concern about feeling neglected amid a challenging time for the industry, Peter said.

"We need government to be more interested and concerned by actually asking what we need and actually looking to find quick, easy and workable solutions to allow Canberra's hospitality industry to trade effectively in these challenging times," Peter said.

The recent closures of Pialligo Estate and Zoo Bar have rocked Canberra's hospitality industry.

It prompted Michael and Peter to gather with hospitality leaders in early April to discuss and work through industry challenges, one of which was a lack of communication from the ACT government.

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"[Businesses are] just not getting the transparent, clear communication and partnership from the government to allow us to survive," Peter said.

"Hospitality businesses everywhere are failing.

"So the government needs to do all it can to keep them going and not look at more red tape, jumping through hoops, not getting things signed off and costing us more and more money."

Public consultation on the proposed designs for Garema Place is open until May 14.