DINING OUT IS BACK
IT wasn’t much but it was a start. Relaxed COVID-19 restrictions had Townsville residents rushing to their favourite dining spots.
Restaurants and cafes can now have up to 10 people dining in, while groups of 10 can gather outside for recreation as Queensland emerges from isolation.
Positioned in prime location to attract passers-by, Fish Inn at Rockpool was inundated with bookings from people enjoying The Strand. Surrounding parks and playgrounds also buzzed with activity after restrictions were eased across the state.
Fish Inn manager Royston Britto said it was a welcome relief to finally be able to open the doors again to inhouse diners.
He said he even had to turn people away at times.
“They were mostly understanding and said they would come back when a slot opened and quite a few of them just decided to get takeaway,” Mr Britto said.
“We had lots of couples and that’s how we were able to fill all our bookings.
“They wanted to make a point to come and support us, and just happy to be out and about with some sense of normality after a month locked away.”
Mr Britto said the weekend’s turnover had instilled hope that better times were on the way for the hospitality industry.
“I actually put three more staff on this week and am hoping to bring on another five next week,” he said.
The hospitality industry was one of the first hit as social distancing and public health measures were enforced nationally, in the midst of COVID-19.
Head chef and part owner of Shaw and Co. Lyndsey Ward said its initial impact was devastating on the books but also going from a team of 12 to just four.
“The industry shut down basically overnight and got hit first in terms of economic effect,” Mr Ward said.
“It was gut wrenching to have to let go staff. Jobkeeper has helped drastically in being able to bring people back and not having all the workload falling on the shoulders of the few we had left.”
The City Lane meat eater’s haven was quick to respond to its closure by selling restaurant quality meats to prop it up.
But Mr Ward said opening its doors to in-house diners was the objective. For now the business was happy to offer exclusive dining to groups of 10.
The more intimate dining meant the group had the place to itself for five hours.
“We have a lot of loyal regulars who were checking in on us and some of them contacted us as soon as the announcement was made,” Mr Ward said.
“We served a grazing platter of small dishes, then a meat platter and finally a big one-metre slab board of cheeses. Providing good quality food over a longer period meant they were able to stay for so long and enjoy themselves.”
Mr Ward said although he welcomed having some customers, the current restrictions of 10 at a time was causing some confusion, making it hard to manage turnover of bookings.
“We’re being a bit optimistic and hoping they’ll move to 20 so we can start doing smaller bookings more often because not everyone can go out as a group 10,” he said.