AROUND 50 beers were served “on the house” at the South Eastern Hotel on Friday night as part of a Coopers Brewery promotion to encourage people to return to their local pub.
Four Mount Gambier pubs were selected by Coopers for the initiative which will provide around 15,000 free beers across Australia.
South Eastern Hotel manager Linda Boylan said the promotion triggered an increase in patronage for the venue.
Ms Boylan said it was a timely boost as the venue recovered from the impacts of COVID-19, which forced its closure earlier this year.
“It really helped us rebuild our business after we had to close and helped get people back on board with local hotels and pubs,” Ms Boylan said.
She remained hopeful Friday night’s event would help fast-track the return of other patrons to the family-friendly venue.
“We do hope to continue improving our numbers over the coming weeks while also maintaining the two-person per squaremetre ruling,” she said.
“Financially the closure was a huge loss for us, opening back up and having all the different laws and social distancing numbers made it difficult to maintain, but its now becoming second nature.”
Ms Boylan observed a significant growth in her staff during the COVID-19 pandemic as they adopted to the rapid changes.
“I have seen them grow quickly with all of this happening because they have had to step up,” she said.
“We have found patrons have also adjusted to the changes well which is great.”
Like all businesses, the venue also increased its hygiene measures with staff educating patrons on correct practices as advised by the health department.
“So far we have not had any issues with patrons adhering to social distancing standards or anything like that,” Ms Boylan said.
“If they are from two separate groups and they do get a little close all we have to do is remind them and they are fine with it.
“We are always on our toes making sure we and our patrons are adhering to the rules.
“But I have noticed it is beginning to become second nature to us all now and we are doing it all the time with staff controlling the situation naturally.”
