More restaurants and cafes have opened in South Australia than anywhere else in the nation, according to the ABS.
The latest quarterly ABS data on business entries and exits in Australia reveals that South Australia is the strongest state for net restaurant and café openings with 141 new ventures opening – representing 28 per cent of all new restaurants and cafes opening in Australia.
Overall, the number of restaurants and cafés in South Australia was 5.1 per cent higher at the end of the 2024 financial year than it was at the start of the year.
Businesses are on the rise across the board with 13,000 more small businesses operating in South Australia than at the time of the 2022 election.
In the September quarter alone, the number of businesses operating in South Australia grew by 2400.
The Australian Restaurant and Café Association has attributed the rise to strong support from the Malinauskas Government including in the form of major events such as Gather Round and Liv Golf, which boosted tourism numbers.
Since coming to government, the Malinauskas Government has been committed to supporting local businesses and last year, for the second year running, the Business Council of Australia found South Australia is the best place in Australia to do business.
In 2023, we released our landmark $14 million Small Business Strategy designed to boost local businesses and our $154 million Economic Recovery Fund continues to help hundreds of businesses to reduce costs.
The second round of the program has provided small businesses – many of them in the hospitality industry – with up to $31 million in the form of energy efficiency grants. These grants supported small businesses to invest in energy efficient equipment to help reduce their power bills.
The Malinauskas Government is continuing to boost local businesses with more information on the support available via: https://business.sa.gov.au
As put by Andrea Michaels
It is fantastic that more than 140 new restaurants and cafes have opened in South Australia – the most of anywhere in the nation.
We know that the pandemic was particularly challenging for the hospitality sector and so we have worked closely with them to support their recovery.
We released our Small Business Strategy designed to support small businesses to grow and provided millions in direct support in the way of grants to help businesses reduce their costs.
We also brought about major events such as LIV Golf and Gather Round, which have delivered enormous economic benefit to the state.
As put by Wes Lambert, Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) Director and Chief Executive of Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association
The SA Government, led by Premier Peter Malinauskas, and with the help of Small and Family Business Minister Andrea Michaels, has been a tireless advocate for small business and the hospitality industry in SA.
Their leadership and dedication to restaurants and cafes in SA is a model for all states to follow for growth and sustainability in the industry.
