Hospitality takes financial hit

This lockdown may be the quietest yet for local hospitality business who are trying to stay positive despite taking financial hits.

Many restaurants and cafes are operating at a loss to simply keep doors open for regular customers and staff in jobs.  Others face no choice but to close for the duration of lockdown.

On the bright side, cafes believe a noticeable reduction in traffic translates to the community doing the right thing and staying home.

The Bean Scene manager Lauren Tymkin said they had reduced operating hours as “each lockdown gets worse and worse”.

“It’s the quietest lockdown we’ve had.  It’s a catch-22, everyone is doing the right thing,” she said.

“But we’re surviving, it’s okay.  You’ve got to stay positive.  We’re lucky that we still get to trade, a lot of places can’t.”

It’s a case of “here we go again” for Sue Bayly from Coffee on Queen who has maintained opening hours.

Sue said “I’ve been alright” but had observed less people out and about around town this lockdown.

“This one is quieter because I haven’t got the foot traffic.  Queen St is definitely the quietest this lockdown, definitely.  The weather I think has a lot to do with it,” she said.

Frankies owner/manager Xavier Manson said they would be better off financially to close for a few days but had ultimately decided to ride it out to keep staff and customers engaged.

“It’s very quiet compared to other lockdowns, much quieter than previous ones,” Xavier said, believing the different COVID strain made locals more cautious and less complacent. 

He estimates opening hours were cut to 60 per cent and roster to 35 per cent but the silver lining was more time to focus on apprentices.

Angelo Raso from Streatside Café said shutting the doors was not an option.

“If we don’t stay open, we’ve given up.  We’re here for the community as the community is here for us.”

Having launched the business during the second lockdown, Angelo said this one was definitely quieter and tough for employees. 

“We want some sort of normal, but I think lockdown will be part of life now.”

In Drouin, French Pear Café owner Rebecca Dumergue had a strong attitude - “I will not shut if I can help it”.

Working mostly on her own, Rebecca agreed with her Warragul counterparts that cold weather was impacting trade.  “It’s so quiet, it’s ridiculous.”

Rebecca said it was hard to balance enticing people to come out for treats whilst encouraging people to do the right thing by staying home.

Drouin Family Hotel is operating takeaway utilising the drive-through bottleshop to generate some revenue, but owner Simon Appleby said it wasn’t enough. 

“Our main concern is our staff.  At the end of the day, keep our staff engaged and employed.  That’s the biggest issue for us.”

“The hospitality industry is losing a lot of people because we are the first ones to close and there’s not job security for the staff.”

Mr Appleby said this lockdown was on par with last year, “it’s not fantastic”.

He hopes for good news about reopening but said “you can’t just flick the switch and open back up” and low-density limits would still mean the business wasn’t viable.

Renee Kemp from Yarragon Hotel said they had lost 90 per cent of trade overnight whilst facing the same costs.

“We trade as a service really and to keep our staff with hours.  There’s no way we could make any kind of profit in this trading environment.”

However, Renee said this lockdown had seen better trade than the previous short lockdown in May which was very quiet.

Open only four days, Renee said “it’s cutting your losses really”.

“Yarragon is fantastic.  I still, even with all this, think we are very lucky to live where we live and serve the people we serve.  I feel sad for places in the city that have had longer lockdowns.” 

Whilst the pubs take on takeaway, Albert and Smith owner David O’Neil chose to close as he has each lockdown due to lack of certainty over how long it will last.

He estimates each closure had cost $5000 to $7000 in labour costs alone.  With most lockdowns announced in the back half of the week, he laments the hidden labour costs involved in preparing for the busy weekend trade.

“You stay positive because you have to.  Sometimes you’ve got to question is there a better way of doing this.”

“Just how many lockdowns can a business and industry handle because this is not going to be the last one.  I think really as a business owner, we’ve got to look at it and accept it’s part of opening in the current climate.”