COVID-19 has put an end to The Buddha Shop in Albury's Dean Street.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Owner Gary Hayward had decided to shut down after a customer last Friday put her hands needlessly on various goods.
He said on Friday he would not reopen and instead focus on online sales and reviving the Yackandandah store he ran with his partner Andy Stevens, who died last year.
"People's habits will change after this," Mr Hayward said.
"I've been in Dean Street since 2011 and my partner passed away last October and I still kept going and this is the first break I've had since he passed away because you've got to still pay the bills."
Mr Hayward said business at his homewares store had already reduced to a trickle when a customer from Melbourne visited last Friday and touched objects she was not buying.
"I said 'look excuse me there is this virus, you need to not handle any goods unless you're buying them' and she said 'that's just bull'," he said.
"She just kept handling goods and I said 'you better leave'.
"She had no symptoms but still everyone's got to do the right thing."
IN OTHER NEWS:
Across the road from The Buddha Shop, the proprietor of The Essential Ingredient Barry Young said he had been forced to ask customers to leave the shop due to touching excessively.
"That's kind of the conflict for the stores staying open; we want to provide a service but we want to make sure people do what they can to stop the spread," Mr Young said.
His sales are now largely centred around pasta and rice.
Those vendors still battling on are facing rental pressure and speaking as Albury Northside Chamber of Commerce deputy chair, Mr Young said it was important they sought help.
"We really encourage businesses to seek out their landlords and ask for a deal and ask for assistance," Mr Young said.
"Some landlords have been good and they're talking to tenants about holding or reducing rent, but it's up to landlords to act quickly because they're going to lose tenants and that's going to be disastrous because they're going to lose tenants for years."
Mr Young said the chamber could provide a template letter to shop tenants wanting help and staff were contactable on (02) 6046 9223.
Mr Hayward echoed Mr Young's concern about plight of store renters.
"The impact is terrible, most people in Dean Street cannot afford to pay those rents," Mr Hayward said.
"It's a disaster for Dean Street, but people have to do the right thing."