Harvest Newrybar, Husk Distillers prepare for end of lockdown

Business owners say they are taking a measured approach to opening their doors when lockdown lifts on the Northern Rivers.

Harriet Messenger at the Husk cellar door in North Tumbulgum says her business won’t be opening immediately after lockdown restrictions end.

Mark Ryan is really looking forward to having a haircut.

But Mr Ryan, who is the Byron Bay Chamber of Commerce president, is also planning a weekend of supporting local business as lockdown lifts.

“I think in the short term it’s a good thing,” Mr Ryan said of the changes that come into effect at 12.01am on Saturday.

“The fact that we’ve been sitting in lockdown for so long with effectively no cases apart from the one that was highly publicised … it’s good that we’re coming out of lockdown.”

He said the short term changes would be good “from a mental health perspective and an economic perspective”.

Harvest Newrybar. Picture: Jess Kearney

Mr Ryan said he was less certain about how things would look in the long term.

“Longer term, that 70 per cent … we won’t really know what that looks like,” he said.

“Businesses need to get trading and we need to get back into the swing of things.”

Mr Ryan said he was planning to spend the weekend supporting Byron eateries.

But with just a few days’ notice and the ongoing border restrictions, some are taking a measured approach.

Tristan Grier, from Harvest Newrybar, said his restaurant would be reopening from next Friday, September 17.

Harvest has continued operating its deli through lockdown and has started offering take-home meals and produce boxes.

“A lot of our energy at the moment is going into reopening,” Mr Grier said.

“It takes a lot of work to reopen a restaurant.”

Harvest owners Brooke Hudson, Tristan Grier and Kassia Grier at the new Harvest Deli. Picture: Contributed

Mr Grier is approaching the reopening with “a certain air of caution”, in light of the state government’s clear advice that one positive Covid-19 case could plunge regional areas straight back into lockdown.

“Our big thing right now is to reopen with a strategic plan to bring back our staff … in a strategic way that will support the business,” he said.

“For the first time we have a plan from the government which is great but in that plan there is obviously a lot of caveats.”

Under the state government’s “road map to freedom”, those who haven’t been fully vaccinated will be subject to greater restrictions when the state broadly opens up at the 70 and 80 per cent vaccination milestones.

Mr Grier said he hoped that wouldn’t mean an extra regulatory burden would be placed on “an industry that is just trying to survive”.

Harvest restaurant at Newrybar.

“Our job has always been to build, grow and encourage our community to thrive,” he said.

“I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to be able to serve (customers) again.”

He said their focus was always on giving people “an experience that elevates their life or that day or an occasion”.

Harriet Messenger, marketing manager at Husk Distilleries, said their North Tumbulgum cellar door would reopen from Saturday, September 18.

With about half of their staff based in Queensland, Ms Messenger said it would be too tricky to open that branch of their business sooner.

She said things had already been stretched; their head distiller has been stuck at home across the border along with other distillery staff and the business is in the middle of its rum harvest.

But they’re making it work with the staff on hand, she said.

“Our food suppliers … some of them weren’t able to deliver to us (this week), they’re based in Queensland,” she said.

“There’s a lot involved in reopening.”

Ms Messenger said after the announcement on Thursday lockdown would end, the phone began ringing straight away.

She said the Husk cellar door would only open on weekends for the time being.

In relation to the state’s road map to freedom – and restrictions on the unvaccinated – Ms Messenger said she hoped people would approach her venue with respect.

It is expected an update to the Service NSW app used to check in to venues will link in with residents’ vaccination records.

Harriet Messenger at the Husk bar. Picture: Mark Cranitch.

“Generally speaking, if it’s something we have to enforce it’s going to put pressure on the front-of-house people who are the gatekeepers,” she said.

“Hopefully people just respect each other.”

Ms Messenger said their customers were generally amazing, but broadly speaking hospitality staff can bear the brunt of those who are angered by the rules.

“Service and hospitality staff are often on the front line and they do get abused and it’s really not fair and it’s really not acceptable,” she said.

White Star Aviation head of operations Nathan James.

Some businesses which are technically permitted when lockdown lifts will still face some challenges, based on Queensland’s definitions of an “essential worker” when border restrictions ease from Monday.

Nathan James, who operates White Star Aviation – a flight school in Ballina – has effectively had his business closed since late July when the Queensland lockdown kicked in.

Mr James and many of his staff and student pilots are based in Queensland.

After waiting for clarification on whether Queensland’s easing border restrictions would allow White Star to reopen from next week, Mr James said teachers were considered essential.

“Four fifths of our staff are based in Queensland and we were locked down by the Queensland lockdown and then unable to get across the border,” he said.

“The Queensland staff haven’t been at work since July 31.”

The past few months have been tough; although his business qualified for a NSW grant because of lockdown, that hasn’t covered their outgoings.

Nathan James and JJ Harris at White Star Aviation in Ballina.