Glenelg beachside retail precinct reopens after tumultuous period for businesses

Traders along one of Adelaide's most popular beachside dining and retail strips say they will continue to struggle despite reopening to traffic, but the local mayor says businesses can expect "a great summer ahead".

Glenelg's Jetty Road precinct's $40 million face lift has reached a major milestone with the road reopening to traffic late on Friday.

The works have overlapped with a six-month closure of the tramline between the city and the seaside destination, while the harmful algal bloom has also impacted on traders.

Waffle King owner Adam Remfry said recent months had been "absolutely terrible" for Jetty Road businesses.

"It's going to take a while to recover. It is what it is."

Mr Remfry said since reopening it was "really good to see everyone come down and support Glenelg".

"It's open, come down here, support all the local businesses, the guys that have been doing it hard," he said.

He said while works were ongoing the finished areas look "really nice".

"Hopefully, for everyone and everyone around, everything gets better," he said.

Montezumas Glenelg owner Julie Baker said the restaurant, which opened in 1991, would close at the end of February after experiencing a 90 per cent downturn in revenue compared to the same time last year.

She said after "falling so far behind" she had made the "gut wrenching" decision to close after 25 years working at the restaurant, including 12 as its owner.

"I put everything I had into this business, so to see it closing down … it's sad for me," Ms Baker said.

"Obviously cost of living and the algal bloom hasn't helped, but just having the disruption of all the roadworks has really put the nail in the coffin for us.

"There wasn't a lot of foot traffic in the last few months here for us and I think a lot of people were avoiding the area."

Holdfast Bay Mayor Amanda Wilson said opening the road to traffic was a "big milestone" for the upgrade project.

"It's going to be much safer for pedestrians. We're going to have a crossing just over there at Mosely Street, nice flat footpaths for everyone, wider as well," she said.

"A lot more outdoor dining and more of a summer, coastal vibe."

Ms Wilson said the vibe on Friday night after the street re-opened was "huge" with "an overwhelmingly positive response from our residents".

"A lot of people were saying they can't believe how much work was done in four months," she said.

Ms Wilson said paving works would continue along the street but there would not be any further road closures.

She said the tram was expected to return to the area in January, while the project would be completed in the middle of 2026.

A government spokesperson confirmed the tramline works were on track for completion at the end of January.

Ms Wilson said the council was offering to help businesses apply for algal bloom grants, while visitors would benefit from free and untimed parking available on Partridge Street.

Local resident Denise Bridger said she "felt really sorry for all of the small businesses locally for the last few months, so hopefully they'll be able to catch up on what they've lost".

"It was really, really quiet this time last week," she said.

"You could walk down without bumping into anybody."

She said while it was obvious more work would be done "it definitely looks a lot better".