Commuters at Hoppers Crossing Station will notice the nearby shopping strip looking more inviting than in the past, thanks to a recently completed update of the Hoppers Junction business precinct.
Funded by Wyndham council, a pilot shopfront improvement project involving eight Hoppers Junction businesses has resulted in upgraded signage and an improved street presence that store owners hope will attract more customers.
Wyndham mayor, Jennie Barrera, said the improvements had made the shopping precinct more welcoming and appealing.
“We are encouraging residents to support local businesses in Hoppers Junction,” Cr Barrera said.
“When we create great vibrant spaces where people want to shop and dine it’s a win-win – it’s great for customers, it’s great for businesses and builds the resilience of our local economy. We understand that running a small business can be challenging. Projects like this can re-energise businesses that might otherwise lack the time and resources to enhance their offerings and improve the presentation of their shop fronts.
“The Hoppers Junction precinct includes a bustling mix of small hospitality, shopping and service-based businesses and it’s fantastic to see this precinct continue to evolve and build on the customer experience.”
Among the businesses that participated in the shopfront improvement project was cafe, Jock and Mack.
“This project gave us a chance to get creative and not only enhance our cafe frontage, but also to enhance our customers’ experience with us,” said cafe owner, Aimee Helu.
“We worked with an experienced creative team who guided us along the way giving us all the options as to what was possible and what would visually be appealing.”
Ms Helu said having the creative team work on the shopfront also afforded her more mental space to focus on other areas of the business such as sales, service, bookkeeping and cleaning.
She said customers had already begun to notice the difference.
“The extra detail makes it so much more inviting and they love that they can interact with the various points in our display, for example the doggie selfie area and the floor design that says ’start your day here’ where you can snap a pic with your kicks.”
Details: www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/events-experiences/hoppers-
junction
Cade Lucas
