Authorities have begun circulating checklists to industry to help licensed venues meet their COVID-19 safety plans required for reopening Monday, 1 June.
In NSW larger venues will be able to take up to 50 people in separate existing dining areas, limited to one patron per four square metres and a group booking limit of 10. Alcohol may be served without food, but patrons must be seated.
NSW will be the first state in Australia to reopen gaming rooms, provided 1.5-metre spacing is observed between players. This might be achieved by switching off some machines or spacing them out, or reducing the number of chairs.
The resumption of gaming in NSW is ahead of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s scheduled roll-back of pandemic regulations, which suggested venues might be able to reopen poker machine rooms as part of Stage Three.
Victoria has similarly stepped up its initial plans for getting pubs trading again, but at this stage gaming rooms will remain closed throughout June.
One of the country’s largest pub groups, Australian Venue Co (AVC), has welcomed the news and announced resumption of trade on Monday at most of its Victorian venues, bringing over 600 staff back to employment.
The re-openings usher in sign-of-the-times changes, such as a system for contact tracing via a simple online form accessed by QR code upon entry.
AVC is also offering pub takeover packages at 14 of its venues across Melbourne. The deal allows 20 friends and family to occupy the whole pub to themselves for a gathering or sporting event, provided the space for two hours, two house drinks and a classic pub main each for $50 per person.
“While the team will still welcome guests with a warm smile and friendly hello, we’ve created some new ‘contactless’ measures that help us to comply with Government restrictions and guarantee our customers a safe and enjoyable experience at our venues,” says AVC CEO Paul Waterson.
Sydney movers and shakers Merivale are similarly throwing open doors again on Monday, reigniting thousands of hospitality jobs across its dozens of pubs and dineries.
Like many of the leading groups, the lockdown period has spawned considerable innovation in Merivale, giving rise to the Merivale At Home chef-prepared, almost-ready meals concept and the launch of a takeaway and delivery service for food & bev.
Bar Totti’s, Coogee Pavilion, Jimmy’s Falafel, Mr. Wong and The Paddington have all already reopened for the 10-patron limit, and the majority of the group’s other operations will be coming back online throughout next week.
“Whilst we are still a little while away from operating all our venues at full capacity, the increase to 50 customers is a huge leap forward and one that will result in an exponential increase in employment,” says Merivale CEO Justin Hemmes.
NSW Health is due to publish the full requirements for pubs to reopen on Monday tonight or tomorrow, but they are set to include measures such as:
- Collecting the name and phone number or email of all staff and customers for the next month (stored securely, and purely for contact tracing)
- Reducing movement of patrons and common surfaces, potentially offering table service only, contactless ordering or using separate order and collection points and different doors for entry and exit
- Mandated 1.5-metre spacing between gaming machines, with patrons seated and included in the capacity limit
- No communal food points, such as bar snacks, buffets or condiments
The Victorian regulations released this week stipulate that before reopening venues are required to have at least one staff member complete the mandated COVID-19 training, which is not available until 1 June.
