Hugos Manly owner Dave Evans warns big venues will go under unless restrictions are lifted
Hugos Manly owner Dave Evans says the government should abandon strict social distancing in venues otherwise many will go bust, as he proposes Australia adopts the Swedish policy of allowing people to make their own choices about risk.
Manly
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The owner of one of Sydney’s most popular restaurants says unless the government abandons its policy of strict social distancing restrictions big hospitality venues will not survive.
He also called for politicians to allow people to make their own personal choice about risk, like in Sweden because the “virus is not going to go away”.
Dave Evans, behind the high-end pizza eaterie Hugos Manly, said he needs to run at capacity or near capacity to make a profit.
He said restricting patrons to one person per four square metres means he can only operate at 25 per cent and it is not worth him “swinging the doors open”.
His tables are 40 to 50cms apart and based on one patron per one square metre.
It comes as the NSW Government announced the number of customers allowed in a venue will be 50 from Monday. Hugos has a capacity of 250.
“We can’t open with 50 customers, or 100, unless the staff are prepared to take a cut in wages,” Mr Evans said.
He said his wharfside restaurant is a large venue, but many pubs and hotels such as Manly Wharf Bar, Hotel Steyne and the Opera Bar in the city have a much larger capacity of 1000 plus.
He said “one size does not fit all” and a commonsense approach should be that larger venues be allowed a larger number of customers as restrictions ease, otherwise it’s not worth “swinging the doors”.
But ultimately, most venues only make a profit on being at capacity or near capacity, so social restrictions need to be lifted for many venues to make a profit.
He warns if restrictions are not fully lifted by September 30 when JobKeeper and other support is due to be withdrawn there will be a “lot of casualties” with many restaurants closing down again, some permanently, and staff being let go and in a worse position than they’re in now.
“The support mechanisms that have been put in place by the government have been great but if they keep up restrictions and take that support away there will be a train crash,” he said.
Mr Evans, who employs 120 people at Manly, said he would welcome a meeting with someone in government making these decisions to point out how restaurants operate and the slim profit margins in hospitality.
He also said the virus is not going to go away and will only be kept at bay if Australia continues to keep out overseas visitors.
“We can’t stop this virus unless we want to lockdown Australia for ever and never let anyone in,” Mr Evans said.
“How long are we going to stop overseas visitors, 10 years, 20, 30?
“People have to be allowed to make their own choices.”
He said in Sweden the elderly and vulnerable self-isolate and others make their own choices about what risks they are prepared to take.
“Around half are self-isolating and for the other half it is business as usual,” he said.
“We have to think how many lives are going to be lost from mental health because of the economy and isolation.”
He said he has written to Manly MP James Griffin and Warringah MP Zali Steggall voicing his concerns.
Mr Griffin said the State Government is pushing for restrictions and fees around al fresco dining to be eased to allow for more outdoor seating and social distancing.