Coronavirus: restaurant rush as the business crowd returns

In a city synonymous with business lunches, the coronavirus crisis has been no more acutely felt than in Sydney’s restaurant scene.

Ecovis Clark Jacobs staff enjoy a work lunch at Manta in Woolloomooloo, Sydney, on Friday. Picture: Nikki Short

In a city synonymous with business lunches, the coronavirus crisis has been no more acutely felt than in Sydney’s once bustling restaurant scene.

Never more busy than a Friday afternoon as lawyers, accountants and brokers file in and trade business tips over a few tipples, the city’s popular haunts have been eerily quiet during the lockdown.

All that suddenly changed with the NSW government allowing restaurants and cafes to once again ply their trade for the first time in weeks.

Sydney accountancy firm Ecovis Clark Jacobs was quick to help kickstart the economy and celebrate the new-found freedom by dining down at Woolloomooloo’s Manta Restaurant.

“It’s great to be back,” David Conley said. “I’ve cut alcohol out during lockdown so haven’t had a drink in a while.”

His colleague Chris Mackenzie agreed: “I’m just loving being outdoors again and at a restaurant, even if we do have to sit slightly apart.”

The NSW government allowed restaurants and cafes to reopen for dine-in meals on Friday as the state began easing some coronavirus restrictions. It wasn’t business as usual, however, with only 10 customers allowed at a time.

Bars and pubs were also allowed to open their doors but are subject to the same social distancing and headcount caps as other venues — with four square metres of space for each patron, up to a maximum of 10 patrons.

When Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced last week that cafes and restaurants could reopen with up to 10 diners, the Manta was booked out within an hour. “We didn’t miss a beat,” said Mr Conley. “I just hope it means life is returning to some semblance of normality.”

Owner Rob Rubif, who has been involved in Sydney’s restaurant scene since 1983, said the lunch bookings for 10 people came in “thick and fast” as soon as Ms Berejiklian agreed to ease some restrictions.

“It was like a steam train — the phone started running hot,” he said. “People are just pent-up and excited to get out.”

While many in the hospitality industry have deemed the maximum numbers allowed under social-distancing rules — which vary from state to state — simply too onerous to make economic sense, Mr Rubif is part of a determined few willing to give it a go.

“Normally, at this time on a Friday, there would be about 2000 people on the wharf waiting to be seated, inside one of the five restaurants or just enjoying a coffee by the water,” he told The Weekend Australian. “It’s just us and China Doll open so obviously we’ve only got 20 customers between us.”

Mr Rubif said the $130bn JobKeeper scheme had been a lifeline for Manta and the restaurant’s 35 staff.

“It’s not viable, but it’s workable,” he said. “I hope we can get rid of the fear factor and get people to come back as restrictions ease, we’ve just got to work with what we’ve got.”