Pub manager: “You can’t run a pub at half strength”
Pubs, clubs and restaurants will be the last to reopen and owners fear the costs of restarting their business.
Whitsunday
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WHILE the first of the coronavirus restrictions are set to lift from Saturday, Whitsunday pub owners and managers know they will be one of the last to reopen their doors.
Pubs were on the list of the first things to shut under initial coronavirus measures on March 23.
Manager of Hotel Metropole in Proserpine, Gordon Bradley, said they had closed their kitchen immediately after the announcement, but their three bottle shops had kept the business afloat.
"We're doing okay, not great but okay," he said.
"We're very blessed to have the Proserpine community who are completely behind us and have supported us.
"We've used the time to do a general clean-up and the council has finished the footpath out front, so when we open we'll be good to go."
However, the uncertainty around opening and its restrictions was a concern for Mr Bradley.
In the Northern Territory, pubs and hotels are set to reopen from May 15, with gaming areas to be able to reopen from June 5, with hopes Queensland could soon follow.
"The impression we're getting is that there will be time restrictions for customers of an hour or two, and if that's the case it might not make sense to open up yet," he said.
"It costs a lot to run a pub and you can't run one at half strength. If your gaming area isn't open, and you can't offer live entertainment, you might be losing money anyway.
"We had to lose all of our food when we closed and the kegs would need to be replaced. There's a lot of costs to absorb once you flip the switch."
Up the road in Bowen, Larrikin Hotel owner Bruce Hedditch said it was a "dreadful" time for the pub, hotel and restaurant industry.
His staff were on the jobkeeper payment scheme but he said he would like to see more support given from all levels of government to help them in the recovery phase.
"We don't know when we're opening, or what we can expect when it happens. It's just waiting and watching at the moment," he said.
"There's a lot of hidden fees that you don't factor in when you're not open and they still add up."
Mr Hedditch said an example was the sewage and electricity fees which were still incoming "even though no one is even in there."
"We have 16 toilets in the pub, and all of them will be accruing a sewage cost even though no one is using them," he said.
"Ergon Energy will say they can't come in to check the meter as everything is locked, so they'll charge an average of what's been used before. Clearly that would be wrong so I'm asking them to check the actual usage.
"There's a lot of hidden charges and I think there needs to be more support to help us get through. There's no income coming through the door at the moment but there's definitely expenses."
Mr Hedditch said he expected pubs to be "different" when they do eventually reopen.
"Hand sanitiser everywhere, social distancing and they're even talking about the food having to come out to customers covered," he said.
"It's a lot of measures to undertake but we need to reopen the doors sooner than later. Let's hope the Northern Territory is successful and maybe Queensland can speed up the reopening.
"Whatever happens though, we'll be ready to open as soon as we can."