After a trifecta of issues for traders on one of Adelaide’s most popular beachside dining and retail strips, some now feel there are “exciting things to come”.
The trams have reopened after a six-month closure, the algal bloom has largely disappeared from the state’s metropolitan coast, and major construction works on Jetty Road reached a major milestone with the road reopening to traffic just before Christmas.
While there is still some paving and footpath works to be undertaken — with the entire $40 million project due to be completed by August — Jetty Road visitor Sam Andonis said it was “nice to see so much progress with the construction”.
He said the last time he was on Jetty Road it was “a lot more difficult to actually get around” due to the construction.
“They’ve done a really good job with the footpaths and the road now, having the tram open gives them a bit of confidence in business down here doing better,” he said.
Visitors to Jetty Road in early January after upgrade works. (ABC News: Daniel Taylor)
Local Annette Butler said the precinct was “so much better” now that the trams had returned.
“And it’ll be great when it’s all finished,” she said.
“But we need more shops to open up.”
Hopeful signs
Traders along the beachside retail and dining have struggled in recent months when tramline works, the algal bloom and the cost of living reduced visitor numbers.
Matthew Blyth opened a bar in the Jetty Road precinct in mid-January 2025 and has also lived in the area all his life.
He said while car parking and construction dirt outside were the “worst of it”, for the most part his business “didn’t feel the effects”.
Glenelg local and bar owner Matthew Blyth says he is “really excited for the future”. (ABC News: Stephen Opie)
“I don’t know if that’s just being lucky, but a lot of our clientele are locals who are regulars, and when this all sort of started, they really rallied around us and I know for a fact a lot of other venues around Glenelg,” he said.
Mr Blyth also said while the algal bloom was an “unfortunate surprise”, there were “great vibes” now, particularly in the hospitality sector.
“I realise retail might have taken a different hit and it probably holds a different outlook,” he said.
“But hospitality down the Bay feels very strong … so we’re actually really excited for the future and it sounds like more venues and more exciting things are to come.”
Work carried out on the pavers in Glenelg. (Supplied)
Ian Matheson is among the retailers that have been affected, having moved his art gallery from the foreshore to the end of Jetty Road in October 2025.
“Day to day was was very hard, there was minimal foot traffic, there was minimal people coming down to not just into my store but into Glenelg,” he said.
Mr Matheson — who intends to run for a seat on the local council — said the summer was usually his peak period of trade.
“And we were seeing a decline worse than our off-peak period,” he said.
Ian Matheson says he believes “a lot more people” will start coming back to the Bay. (ABC News: Stephen Opie)
But Mr Matheson said there were positive signs, with “more of an influx of foot traffic” since the trams had returned.
“Once the roadworks are finished with, I think a lot more people [will] start coming down to this destination again,” he said.
After 34 years of providing Mexican food in Glenelg, Montezumas will shut down at the end of the month.
Owner Julie Baker said while the action outside was “not the only reason” for the closure — noting the cost-of-living crisis — it was a deciding factor.
“It was the last straw for my business,” she said.
In October, the Holdfast Bay Council said recent data had shown overall “economic activity in Glenelg remains strong”.
But economic analysis recently published on the council’s website shows a drop-off in spending along Jetty Road in the months since that time.
The council said it had commissioned the “specialised quarterly precinct reporting” to get a more detailed picture of economic turnover along the popular strip.
The data indicates the total local spend in each of the last three months of 2025 was down compared to the corresponding month the previous year.
Holdfast Bay Mayor Amanda Wilson says “a great series of events” are coming up to end the summer. (ABC News: Stephen Opie)
According to the analysis, Jetty Road spending in November 2025 was $39.7 million — a 6 per cent decrease from the same month in 2024.
While total spending reached $47.4 million the following month, the decline was even greater, reaching 6.5 per cent.
Increases in spending by local residents in October, November and December were not enough to offset reductions in spending by visitors from outside the area.
Mayor Amanda Wilson said while locals had “really got behind Glenelg”, data now showed “a lot of people from around Adelaide didn’t come down during the construction process and that really had a huge effect on the economy down here”.
However, she said there were a number of events coming up to bring people back to the precinct.
“Everybody is really excited that the trams are back and we’re looking forward to finishing the summer with a great series of events,” she said.