Coronavirus: it’s a win for cafes but pubs are spitting chips

Australia’s peak restaurant industry body has welcomed the announcement of a staged relaxation of coronavirus restrictions.

‘The important thing for us is that we get an indication of when the restrictions are being lifted so we can start planning,’ says Merivale group executive Justin Hemmes. Picture: John Feder

Australia’s peak restaurant industry body Restaurant & Catering Australia has welcomed the announcement of a staged relaxation of coronavirus restrictions that will see businesses reopening for dining-in in a three-step prog­ram that should be fully implemented by August.

According to chief executive Wes Lambert, the plan follows “sustained lobbying efforts from the restaurant and cafe sector”.

Mr Lambert said R&CA had provided state and federal govern­ments with a comprehensive set of best-practice guidelines which would assist businesses in managing the reopening process.

“We have been working closely with state and federal leaders to seek to chart a path that will allow thousands of small restaurants and cafes to reopen their doors and start serving customers for dine-in once again,” he said.

“Our best-practice guidelines have been formulated with input from leading epidemiologists and provide a practical way for venues to reopen safely.

“The guidelines have a strong focus on contact tracing, social distancing and accreditati­on to give comfort to governments, health officials and customers as our economy restarts.’’

Mr Lambert said that during the COVID-19 crisis more than 441,000 jobs “in the wider accommodation and food services indust­ry have disappeared”.

One of the country’s biggest restaurant employers, Sydney’s Merivale Group, said the significance of Friday’s announcements was that it provided a pathway to “normality”.

“The important thing for us is that we get an indication of when the restrictions are being lifted so we can start planning,” said Merivale’s chief executive Justin Hemmes. “It’s promising news; it’s giving us a horizon we can look to and it allows us to model and determine whether it’s worth opening individual businesses.”

Mr Hemmes said, however, that under the first step of the cabinet proposal, which needs to be adopted by the individual states, it was unlikely any of Merivale’s venues would reopen.

The Australian Hotels Association has previously said social-distancing restrictions would not be sustainable for hotels.

In a submission to the federal government prior to Friday’s announcemen­t, the AHA said its 5000 members had been forced to stand down at least 200,000 workers since social-distancing restrictions started on March 23.

“Unfortunately, the existing social distance rules of 1.5m and one person per 4sq m equate to about 25 per cent capacity and are not sustainable for many hotels, particularly regional and country premises,” the submission said.

Publicans were also far from impressed, saying the “roadmap to recovery’’ would fail to stop a “collision­ course that will drive many hotels operators into a mountain of debt”.

Australian Hotels Association chief executive Stephen Ferguson said hotels had been “blind­sided … (by the news) they will not be able to reopen their businesses until stage three’’. “Why can barista­s get work but not bar staff?’’ he asked. “Why can only 10 people­ be allowed in a dining area of a huge venue that could safely socially distance 120?’’