Harvey business boom

New businesses have been popping up in the heart of Harvey, despite the challenging economic climate. In the past month, several new stores and services have come to town, which is a welcome boost for the local economy. The boom comes just months after many hospitality venues and businesses were forced to close due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many are starting to recover with the lift in restrictions and some will now even have neighbouring businesses which could potentially increase traffic in the town centre. Harvey shire president Paul Gillett said it was great to see new businesses come to town. “We welcome new opportunities for economic development,” Cr Gillett said. “Now that more people are travelling within our State we hope that this creates more opportunities and windfalls for businesses in our shire.” New business Equipets is the latest inhabitant of Harper Street. It is Harvey’s first pet store in a number of years and will be operated by Narelle and Dom Celisano. The pair own Anchovies Pizza in Harvey and said they would stock fish, birds, rats, mice and rabbits in their new store. They will also stock horse products as are both heavily involved in the horse industry. “We have always wanted to open a pet shop and the time was right,” Mrs Celisano said. “We wanted to bring something new to the town that wasn’t already here.” Another new business Blue Wren Health will offer holistic services, facials, naturopathy and massages and hair analysis testing on Hayward Street. Owner Linda Newman said the community had made her feel “very welcome”. “I asked the community what they thought the town needed before opening up,” Mrs Newman said. “They expressed a need for naturopathy services and products and so we now have that in store.” Jimmy Panetta, who owns two empty shops in the main street, said an eatery/food business could potentially be moving into one of the buildings, but he was unable to confirm the exact details. He believed Harvey needed a dinner or take-away service that operated seven days a week, like the Chicken Treat franchise which operated in Harvey for a number of years. Along with the new businesses, empty shop fronts have also been filling up. The new Harvey Youth Club is set to take up two buildings in the piazza which will be used for youth activities and events. The Liberal candidate for Murray-Wellington Michelle Boylan has also set up her campaign office in the main street. Lemongrass Cafe has also rebranded and shifted to a new building. The business boom means there is only a handful of empty shopfronts now left around town.