Reopen time not so distant
RESTAURANT bosses are whetting their appetite to return to business sooner than expected.
National Joblink restaurant manager Catherine Pacey is anxiously awaiting the end of the restrictions to open their latest project, an eatery called Wild Thyme.
“Definitely coronavirus has delayed the opening plans as we were two weeks off our opening date,” Ms Pacey said.
“However, it has allowed us time to really concentrate on our stage two kitchen project, acting as a perfect training kitchen for people pursuing a career in hospitality.”
Ms Pacey said the restaurant would have the capacity to seat more than 100, but could easily comply with social distancing laws and reduce to 50 per cent while maintaining a vibrant atmosphere.
Ochre restaurant owner Craig Squire said he was hopeful the State Government would expedite a reopening of restaurant dining areas as early as within the next month.
“Cairns is a unique market mix between locals and tourism,” he said. “If we don’t have open Australian borders and domestic tourism, and have no international tourism for a considerable amount of time, it will be hard to make ends meet.
“For our restaurant, our mix is pretty much 40 per cent local, 20 per cent domestic tourism and 40 per cent international tourism.”
Mr Squire said that when the restaurant reopened, it would likely be at reduced seating capacity, similar to what it was in the last few days leading up to the shutdown.
“With social distancing measures in place and people sitting roughly 1.5m apart, it would reduce our capacity down to about 55,” he said.
“Our break-even for our business is 90 a day, but in saying that, we can also staff accordingly, knowing we’ll likely be at only half trade.”
Muddy’s Cafe owner Kayci Browning said they were looking forward to being able to put their tables and chairs back out. “We’re nowhere near as busy, but the takeaway has been working well for us and the community support has been good,” she said.
Ms Browning said the takeaway option previously amounted to no more than 30 per cent of Muddy’s orders.
“Being on the waterfront, a lot of people would grab it for picnics,” she said.
“The support has been great, but otherwise it’s just not been the same not having people out enjoying the view, so we’re hoping for a return to normal as soon as possible.”
Mr Squire said their home delivery partnership with Tropical Spirit Catering would likely keep going for a while after the restaurant reopened.