One of our readers recently sent the Voice two photos.
They are the ones published alongside this article, and show the irony of the long queues at the Macarthur Square McDonald’s outlet, and the total lack of a lineup at Bee Healthy.
Indeed Bee Healthy had just closed, for good, and there’s more chance of hell freezing over than a McDonald’s store closing down any time soon.
Not that we’re saying there’s anything wrong with the food on offer at Maccas.
Experts will tell you that so long as it’s eaten in moderation there will be no dramas.
But it’s also true that the giant conglomerate that is McDonald’s can more easily absorb rent increases imposed by commercial landlords.
Which I hear is something that the people at Bee Healthy in Macarthur Square just could no longer do and packed it in after being informed of the rent rate hike.
Which is a real shame because consumers should have a choice when sitting down for lunch in the food court of a major shopping centre.
And that is why Bee Healthy closing down at the Square is a little disappointing.
It’s not a tragedy or anything remotely like it, and life will go on.
Indeed before too long Bee Healthy will be a distant memory.
It always will come down to the bottom line of course, especially when you’re running a small business.
As someone who has his own weight issues I am not going to moralise about our society’s obesity challenges.
It is up to everyone to choose what they eat at home or outside and cop the consequences, bad or good.
Nor can government legislate to make sure healthy food outlets are given a leg up to commercial success.
For better or worse, the consumer always votes with his or her feet – that’s how the cookie crumbles.
That sounds a bit defeatist Eric, leave it too the consumer? If in the nanny state there is concern over bursting health budgets the government is welcome to step in and regulate, subsidise and support healthy eating. But they don’t have the gall to take on the giants of the food industry as they make tax on every store and transaction. It extends everywhere (the subsidies) support for unethical industries such as coal mines that contribute to coral bleaching (global warming) native forest logging and paper manufacturers and other land clearer’s and irrigators. Favours are done even in our area for the Appin, Mt. Gilead and Hurlstone developers despite concerns for flora and fauna being world class. This is not a time in history to be passive about all this?
Why can’t the government legislate to assist healthy food companies get a leg up??
Isn’t the role of any government to be looking out for the citizens it is representing? Health is the bottom line for people’s life and the longevity we get from it.
Unfortunately it’s far too easy to keep up the corruption with big business taking a free ride as long as they help fill the governments coffers, whatever the costs to the public.
Be Healthy was overpriced for the quality they provided from experience, people were shopping with their wallets. The business provided a menu that you could probably find in your fridge at home.
If you’re eating out, you’re probably going to buy something you don’t usually have.
Soul Origin is within a moderate/high price range within that section of the centre, and usually has a group of people waiting for service.
I don’t think in this case its matter of people making the ‘wrong’ lifestyle choices or big business increasing rent, but a business that failed to identify consumer trends and meet the needs for the market that they had been aiming for.