Coronavirus: Olympic spirit as good will flows

Pub owner Danielle Richardson still remembers the excitement of hosting 2000 Olympic celebrations at her family business’s ­watering holes across Sydney.

‘There’s a zest in the air’: Sydney pub owners Shane and Danielle Richardson have welcomed the easing of restrictions. Picture: Nikki Short

Pub owner Danielle Richardson still remembers the excitement of hosting 2000 Olympic celebrations at her family business’s ­watering holes across Sydney.

With the state’s coronavirus restrictions easing for the pub ­sector, she says there’s a zest in Sydney’s air reminiscent of the early 2000s.

“There’s a level of excitement. I’ve never seen anything like it. The encouragement from people coming back out is enormous,” the co-owner of the Red Lion Hotel in inner-city Rozelle said.

“People want to reconnect with community and the local community pub will be so beneficial as we move through this.

“We still can’t travel, so this is the only social connection we have.

“Everyone has been through it, they’re all sharing their stories.”

From Wednesday, indoor ven­ues in NSW, including pubs and restaurants, have been ­allowed to host any number of people, as long as they are seated and comply with a one person per 4 sq m rule.

Under the state’s previous restrictions, Ms Richardson’s hotel that she co-owns with her husband Shane was capped at 100 punters. From this week, the relaxing of coronavirus measures for the hospitality sector means the venue in Sydney’s inner-west can host up to 180 people.

“All of a sudden we can start the kind of trading we should be doing with this amount of floor space,” Mr Richardson said.

The increased capacity has allowed the hotel to schedule in more private functions in their calendar and begin planning for a return of trivia nights and seated live music shows.

The Laundy Hotels’ hospitality group was able to keep 380 of 1000 staff on JobKeeper payments. This month’s easing of restrictions has allowed them to bring back casual staff ineligible for the federal government’s wage subsidy.

“The excitement of people getting able to come back and start being employed again has been enormous for a lot of the casuals we had to let go,” Mr Richardson said.

“That’s one of the things that puts a smile on your face, seeing people who had to go to JobSeeker and were living of a much less amount of people, being able to come back.”

Ms Richardson said the requirement to ensure customers are seated is the biggest challenge facing the pub’s management.

“Naturally, we stand up and want to mingle and socialise. As an owner, having to walk around and say do you mind sitting down, is a little bit challenging,” she said.

For Mr Richardson, the pub’s injection of community live into Rozelle is the focus of attention.

“With small houses, this is more like the communal area for people. It’s amazing to watch ­people come out and be so excited about speaking to their neighbour or person down the road.”