Westfield Woden's food retailers are continuing to criticise their landlord for failing to respond to declining foot traffic and for bringing new competition into the mall within metres of other traders.
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Bakery products are being sold near a long-term bakery, a sushi outlet, which has since left, was allowed to trade next to another long-term sushi tenant, and a tea retailer was set up near another tea shop.
The Canberra Times reported on Monday tenants had appealed for rent relief after major tenants including Medibank had left the mall.
Cafe Gaudi, one of the mall's biggest food tenants near the main entrance off Corinna Street, surrendered its lease after 13 years, unable to cope with a 30 per cent increase in rent.
Co-owner Maria V. Estanillo said they had lost money after paying top dollar for the business, sinking profits into two refurbishments, and were unable to afford another refurbishment due in 2015 which would have cost $250,000.
"My husband and I felt we were knocking our heads against a brick wall. We managed to get a full restaurant by halving prices, coming up with specials like $10 meals. The takings we were making were half what we were doing five years ago," Mrs Estanillo said.
She said Westfield charged them extra for trading outside core mall hours. "They really nailed you for every single thing you do, any outgoings you would not think of," Mrs Estanillo said.
"In the end they offered to surrender the lease, so we surrendered the lease," she said.
She said while they were obliged by their lease to do regular refurbishments, the mall had not upgraded the shopping centre in many years.
"It is a big corporation, we are a small fish in the bigger picture fo them. They tried to milk us up to the last minute instead of saying, 'You are going to go, you surrendered the lease, let's see if we can reduce the rent a little bit, lets see if you can stay afloat'," Mrs Estanillo said.
Cafe Gaudi's Facebook page says Westfield under-valued what the family business had done for 13 years, and the fact it had a strong following from loyal customers.
Other tenants say the mall's golden era ended long ago, but Westfield was not adjusting its rent or leasing to help traders.
"Ten to 15 years ago the mall had plenty of traffic. Weekends here were massive," a food court retailer said.
Tenancy changes at Coolemon Court shopping centre at Weston Creek, the arrival of Canberra Outlet Centre [formerly DFO], Majura Park and new Braddon retailers had given people a wider choice.
"Traffic [at Woden] is still reasonable, but the landlord is alway looking for a positive increase. Traffic is down from what it used to be, for long-term tenants it is down by 30 to 40 per cent," a shop owner said.
Westfield had offered new tenants substantial rental discounts which has caused dismay among long-term tenants.
"They will put anyone in with no regard to the tenancy mix. The better the trading, the better their ability to pay rent. Poor tenancy choices are causing some tenants to go broke."
Another trader said: "When the rents are so low, they should look after the tenants. When Westfield fills a vacancy they profit with associated fees such as design coordination and hoarding fees."
A spokeswoman for Westfield said a number of factors played a role on shop locations within the mall but an overarching approach was to have a precinct where retailers of a similar usage were placed together. This was usually how shoppers would shop, she said.
