Waiting to

THE sea of uncertainty facing Geelong restaurants, pubs and cafes extends beyond not knowing how long it will be until they are allowed to resume normal trade.

Geelong publican Cam O’Keefe fears for the future of cashflow-hungry hospitality businesses and their staffs after the government’s emergency restrictions to slow the spread of coronavirus sent them into lockdown.

“I read a statistic this week that two-thirds of hospitality venues, whether it be a cafe, a restaurant or function space, probably won’t reopen after this,” Mr O’Keefe said.

He said the dire prediction might not prove accurate but it was scary to contemplate such an extreme impact.

“There’s multiple things from a hospitality point of view which are worrying,” he said.

“There is not just when we can reopen the doors but whether people will come back straight away.

“It’s the uncertainty of even if the doors do open, where is the virus at?

“There may be a lot of economic uncertainty in people’s lives and they might not want to spend money going out for dinner or out for drinks … and the uncertainty with jobs.”

Mr O’Keefe has closed his two CBD venues, Westend in Little Malop St and Centra In Yarra St, standing down about 16 full-time and 16 casual staff.

“Our immediate role (last week) was to be looking after our staff and make sure they understand what benefits they have access to,” he said.

He said it was his intention to reopen with the same staff, but he was aware their situa

— Cam O’Keefe (right) tions could change depending on how long the lockdown was enforced.

In the meantime, he will be working on marketing and other plans to hit the ground running when the business is permitted to open again.

The timing of the virus has hurt the new-look Westend — formerly the Eureka Hotel — the hardest, with the business