Ballarat businesses welcome back customers as regional Victoria restrictions ease
Ballarat residents have enjoyed their first taste of freedom, eating out after coronavirus restrictions eased overnight.
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Ballarat residents have enjoyed their first taste of freedom, eating out after coronavirus restrictions eased overnight.
It comes after the state recorded 28 new infections in the past 24 hours, dipping below 30 cases for the first time since June.
There are 33 active cases in the regions and the 14-day rolling average is now 2.9.
Residents braved the cold weather to dine at the city’s eateries, with cafes and restaurants booked to restriction capacity.
Higher Society cafe owner Rhys Jeffrey said the first day of eased restrictions had been a success, with only “slim” openings for patrons wanting to sit down.
“This morning has been surreal hearing the murmur of the crowd, the cutlery, the cups, it’s a really happy moment for us,” he said.
“People just wanted to come out and have some normality to their day, it wasn’t a surprise but it was a bit overwhelming of how many people wanted to do that on day one.
“Having people back in, bums on seats, is overwhelming, as an owner to see that.”
Maggie Ryan said it was exciting to have the freedom to dine in with friend Mimi Barnett after months of isolation.
“Just being around people is what we need right now, especially in these tough times,” she said.
“Absolutely loving it, it’s really good,” Ms Barnett said.
I’ve missed it a lot, missing that connection with people.”
Webster’s Market and Cafe supervisor Rodney Warner said staff were run off their feet after opening with a morning rush of customers.
“The atmosphere has been pretty amazing, and then having customers in this morning has been mind-blowing the fact that we had people from the get go,” he said.
“All the customers have been gracious, happy, with open arms and we’ve been the same.
“We can’t wait for more customers to come back and experience it all with us again.”
Segifili Asaleausa, a patron of Webster’s, said being shut inside during lockdown had taken a toll on his mental health.
“It’s just such a relief to get a bit more freedom back into our normal lives … now it’s evident we took it for granted, but really enjoying walking around getting outdoors a lot more and getting to experience it with other people,” he said.
Hospitality businesses can access up to $5000 in grants to help them make the transition to outdoor dining.
Buninyong state Labor MP Michaela Settle and Wendouree state Labor MP Juliana Addison dined at the Pancho Latino restaurant for lunch, urging the community to support Ballarat’s businesses.
“Our businesses needs you now more than ever and we’re calling on everyone to come out,” Ms Addison said.
Pancho owners Jose Fernandez and Simone Baur-Schmid will be offering indoor dining from Friday and said there was an opportunity for a cultural change in the hospitality scene to extend after restrictions.
“We’ve had discussions with neighbouring properties, everyone who’s either involved in hospitality or not are more than happy to help where they can to extend spaces to allow us to creep a few tables either side,” Ms Baur-Schmid.
Committee for Ballarat chief executive Michael Poulton said people wanting to eat out should consider walking further to their destination to free up car park spaces for businesses.
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