Holiday hotspot restaurants and cafes forced to close amid Covid spike

Some of Queensland's best-known eateries are closing temporarily due to Covid staff shortages, but at least one owner says ongoing uncertainty might drive him out of the industry.

Queensland holiday hot spots are without some of their biggest restaurants and cafes, as venues are forced to shut en masse due to Covid staff shortages.

From Noosa Surf Club on the Sunshine Coast to the Gold Coast’s famous Rick Shores restaurant, eateries have been left with no other choice but to close temporarily as the bulk of their employees fall sick to Covid or are in isolation after being named a close contact.

The usually thriving culinary mecca of Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast has become an almost dining desert, with restaurant windows throughout the suburb littered with signs announcing closures due to staff shortages.

Popular ventures such as Jimmy Wah’s, Harry’s Steak Bistro, Mr Hizola’s, The Tropic, Paloma Wine Bar and Rick Shores have all had to shut until further notice as they scramble to find enough staff to cover shifts.

Mr Hizola’s in Burleigh Heads has been forced to close because of Covid staff shortages.

“There are a lot of people here on holidays and there are no restaurants open,” said Rick Shores co-owner Nick Woodward, who was also mopping up after Cyclone Seth flooded his beachfront restaurant.

While he said the shortages and closure was a massive blow, he revealed it was almost a relief.

“It’s not the best time for it to happen in the busiest week of the year, but it’s almost a relief because it’s something we’ve been waiting for two years – the genie is out of the bottle,” he said.

For nearby Japanese Iku Izakaya, however, the rapid spread of Covid through the community, and especially hospitality, has been a “nightmare”, with the venue forced to close after 10 Covid-positive guests dined just before Christmas.

It reopened on January 4, but with only four staff, with the rest either sick or in isolation because of Covid.

“It’s just stressful. Everyday it’s a new thing and just the unknown is the killer,” said Iku owner Mitch Chesterton.

Restaurant owner Mitch Chesterton at his Japanese eatery Iku in Burleigh Heads. Picture: Adam Head

He revealed he considers closing the restaurant every day and said he couldn’t see a way out of the problems caused by the pandemic.

“My lease is up in eight or six months and I’m like, ‘What do I do?’. If it was back to normal within a year then I would sign on again, but if we were still doing this and we’re still doing lockdowns and what not … I would just rather go work at Woolies, at least I’d have some security,” he said.

Along the coast in Broadbeach, award-winning cafe Elk Espresso was forced to only open for takeaway on Tuesday and would be running at half capacity on Wednesday after being left short-staffed with ill and isolating employees.

Harry’s Steak Bistro is one of a number of businesses from Burleigh to Broadbeach that are closed due to staff shortages as a result of climbing Covid cases in Queensland.

Owner Andrew Whiting said he was only writing rosters 24 hours in advance, as staff continued to be taken out of action by the pandemic

“I’ve really been pushed to my capacity with problem solving and that’s something I think I’m great at but this last season has really tested me,” he said. “We feel like we’re in the trenches.”

Tourists in holiday hotspot Noosa have also been left starving for dining options, with a smorgasbord of restaurants and cafes being forced to temporarily close due to staff shortages in what is usually their busiest time of the year.

Noosa Surf Club, Flanagan’s pub and Cafe Le Monde were all closed on Tuesday because of staff shortages, while popular waterfront eatery Bistro C announced on its social media that it had stopped breakfast sittings indefinitely due to the staffing crisis.

The Surf Club at Noosa Heads has been forced to close because of staff shortages. Picture: Lachie Millard

Brisbane hasn’t been able to escape the staffing issues either with popular gourmet takeaway Botanica Real Food announcing they have had to adjust trading hours to cope; while new Italian restaurant Gemelli on swanky James St in Fortitude Valley, along with its sister venues on the Gold Coast, Gemellini and Roy’s by Gemelli, have all been forced to close because of an employee deficit.

The closures proved devastating for co-owner James Carney.

“It’s a big blow because the Gold Coast restaurants rely on this period to get them through the quieter months,” he said.

“It’s just the mental part of it all, thinking is this just going to keep happening until they find a cure.”

Mr Carney said he was physically and mentally exhausted from trying to keep the few remaining staff happy and the business moving forward.

“When you’re losing all your good staff who have been with you four or five years because of vaccine mandates and now this is the second blow, it just doesn’t stop,” he said.