Bar’s open … but there’s a limit to the fun
Pubs and clubs in NSW can serve 10 patrons at a time from Friday as long as they sit at a table.
Pubs and clubs across NSW have been given the go-ahead to reopen their doors and serve patrons from Friday, but venues will only be allowed to operate with 10 customers inside at a time as long as they are seated at a table.
Bars and gaming facilities will remain shut for now, but alcoholic drinks and meals will be sold to seated customers in keeping with social distancing measures.
The NSW government signed off on further easing of restrictions across the hospitality sector late on Wednesday, a decision that dovetails with already-planned moves to permit restaurants and cafes to house up to 10 customers at a time from Friday.
The move offers hope to the beleaguered hospitality sector that more generous operating concessions will follow sooner rather than later, albeit with existing social distancing measures remaining in place.
But many venues are unlikely to open their doors to indoor customers on Friday, opting to continue operating as bottle shops until restrictions are eased further and it becomes financially viable for them to entertain more than 10 patrons at a time.
Justin Hemmes’s empire Merivale plans to reopen several Sydney venues, including Mr Wong’s, Mimi’s, Totti’s Bondi, The Paddington and Lotus. Matthew Karagiannis, who works at Merivale’s Palmer & Co bar in Sydney, said he was eager for things to reopen if it were deemed to be safe.
“Everyone is conscious working in hospitality of the risk if the virus continues to spread,” he said.
“We don’t want to take a step backwards; we want to be able to return to our normal operations as soon as it’s safe to do so.”
The hospitality sector remains one of the most heavily hit by the COVID-19 restrictions, which have been in place nationwide in various guises since mid-March. Lobby groups representing the industry have pleaded for a reprieve; nearly half of all registered clubs remain at risk of permanent closure due to the restrictions, according to ClubsNSW statistics.
The Australian Hotels Association has been calling for an easing of restrictions, particularly for pubs in regional towns where few or no COVID-19 cases have been reported. The decision in NSW follows those already made in other states.
South Australia has already implemented a 10-person dining rule for pubs, while the Northern Territory will allow the venues to open from Friday.
The West Australian government has moved to allow up to 20 people to dine in a pub, club, RSL, restaurant or cafe from May 18, and identical measures have been introduced for Queensland, but only from June 12.
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet described the latest measure for pubs and clubs as a critical but tentative step for progress for the economic revival of the hospitality sector. “This is an important first step, and we want it to be a success, so that as venues transition back from closure they do so safely both for their staff and their customers,” Mr Perrottet said.
“We realise the smaller venues will be the ones who gain most, but we are working hard to ensure we open in a safe manner and get the economy back up and firing.”
Deputy Premier John Barilaro said they would be particularly helpful in regional communities, which fall within his portfolio responsibilities.
“It’s been a tough few months but we are starting to see some wins, first on the health front and now in getting the economy back, and this is welcome news for many regional towns,” Mr Barilaro said.
Australian Hotels Association NSW Director John Green described the announcement as a “win for common sense”.
“It shows the state government is listening and they are assessing and willing to make change and we welcome that,” Mr Green said.
He said that although the 10 patron limit would not be feasible for every venue it gave the sector consistency with cafes and restaurants. “It acknowledges that having lunch in a cafe is the same as having lunch in a hotel next door,” Mr Green said. “It’s important that we use this opportunity to demonstrate that, as one of the most regulated industries in the country, we demonstrate that we can operate safely under social distancing and biosecurity requirements.”
The Momento Hospitality Group, which owns pubs in Sydney’s northwest, welcomed the move to begin revitalising the state’s hospitality sector.
The group’s customer experience director Jason Jelicich described the announcement as a “glimmer of hope”, but said the company would move forward with caution. “We are still in the trenches right now though,” Mr Jelicich said. “Ten people is a start and it’s getting the wheel turning, it means we’re heading in the right direction, but we need to keep on focusing on diversifying revenue streams.”
Hospitality group Solotel chief executive Justine Baker said the limit of 10 people in a venue at any one time was not feasible for any of the group’s pubs. “Some of our big venues are 400 square metres and we may have five rooms. To then just operate one part of it for 10 people doesn’t really make any sense,” she said. “With 10 people you would never open a kitchen, but as soon as we can have multiple revenue streams turned on, that makes sense.”
Ms Baker said the group supported measures that would allow social distancing to occur based on square metres per person, instead of a capacity cap.
Additional reporting: Adeshola Ore, Imogen Reid
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