It’s 11.19am on Good Friday and Pantry Glen Iris has already served nearly 400 customers.
The popular cafe – with its salmon-pink interior – is bustling and cheery staff members race around fulfilling almond chai latte orders and packaging chicken schnitzels, freshly baked croissants and hot cross buns into brown paper bags.
A decade ago, it would have been challenging to find a spot for coffee or brunch on a public holiday. But the Pantry is one of a growing number of small businesses and cafes around Melbourne which are open over the Easter weekend.
Patrons enjoying lunch on Good Friday at the Union Hotel in Windsor.Credit: Simon Schluter
Owner Julien Moussi took over the business in 2021 and said trading on Good Friday was a no-brainer.
“We’ve been open every Good Friday for the last four years because it’s the right thing to do for customers,” Moussi said.
“Everybody has breakfast and coffee every day. If you’re closed, you’re only giving people an opportunity to go elsewhere.”
Paul Guerra, chief executive of the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said it was great to see more small and family businesses opening on Good Friday.
“It reflects our evolving lifestyle, stronger tourism activity, tightening employment market and response to consumer appetites,” he told The Age.
“This is particularly the case in our tourism hot spots in regional Victoria which will hopefully do a booming trade this Easter long weekend.”
Paul Guerra, chief executive of the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association chief executive Wes Lambert has noticed a growing trend in the number of businesses choosing to open on Good Friday.
“I think customers have all but demanded that their favourite cafe and restaurant is open on Good Friday,” he said.
“A majority of Australians are off for the long weekends and certainly looking for that favourite place to go.”
Lambert said many cafes and restaurants implement public holiday surcharges to deal with penalty rates.
“While it [the surcharge] doesn’t cover all of the increase in wages, it certainly covers some, and many businesses do just break even on public holidays, but they do so to keep their employees employed and to contribute towards their fixed costs,” he said.
Moussi said that although public holidays “were not super profitable” for businesses, he recognised it as a good opportunity for casual staff and customers.
“Customers appreciate predictability, so being open on Good Friday is a gesture of goodwill for our community and it’s also a good opportunity for staff to get penalty rates and therefore make a bit more money,” he said.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.