THE afternoon knock-off beer or a quiet drink with friends is back on the menu with pubs across the region allowed to exclusively serve alcohol to seated patrons from Monday following a State Government decision to bring forward the easing of restrictions on licensed venues.
Premier Steven Marshall yesterday announced stage two easing of restrictions in South Australia would be brought forward to June 1, a week ahead of the original June 8 timeline, which had since been revised to June 5 before the long weekend break.
The announcement provided the clarity licensed premises across the region had demanded , with the better than best case scenario allowing venues to welcome up to 80 patrons – broken up into 20 people per available section.
Other businesses to benefit from the revised easing of restrictions include cinemas and theatres, gyms and indoor fitness, galleries and museums, beauty services and funerals, which now have a 50-guest cap.
Sport will also start its transition to competition without spectators, while private gatherings will also double from 10 to 20.
Yesterday’s announcement followed a wave of confusion on Friday as several Limestone Coast licensed venues prepared to open for up to 20 patrons – 10 seated inside and 10 outdoors – only to discover complex licensing regulations which prevented them from operating.
This triggered a press conference from Mr Marshall late on Friday afternoon, announcing all licensed venues were able to operate under the 20-patron guidelines immediately.
Welcoming yesterday’s expansion of allowable patrons to a cap of 80, it came as a surprise to Matthews Group operations manager Robert Mitchell – who oversees Mount Gambier’s Park, Gambier and South Eastern hotels – describing it as a great result for the hospitality industry.
“We envisaged a soft opening and expected the best case scenario to be 50 patrons and the worst case to be 20,” he said.
“The ability to host 80 people is fantastic and we are all surprised how quickly things have come back since we were first closed – we were preparing to ride this out until September or October.”
Pubs will also be able to serve alcohol to patrons – regardless of whether they have purchased a meal – provided they are seated at a table.
Rules allowing one person per four square metres and 1.5 metre social distancing will still need to be adhered to.
“We are still waiting to get a proper definition of the guidelines and what it will look like, but we are obviously very happy with this,” Mr Mitchell said.
“It has left us scrambling to get in contact with suppliers as there is going to be an extra demand for stock.”
Mr Mitchell said the three Matthews Group hotels hoped to be able to get close to the maximum patrons and would benefit from the layout of each venue.
“There’s obviously going to be some challenges along the way with the 20 people per space, but we are fortunate to have some pretty big spaces in each venue,” he said.
“We will do everything in our means to go above and beyond the guidelines put in place and ensure everyone’s health and safety is paramount – we do not want to go backwards.”
Reflecting on a tough couple of months for the industry, Mr Mitchell said he was most excited to welcome staff back to their roles at each business.
“It has always been about our staff first and foremost, they all have livelihoods and this will make it a little bit easier for us – in terms of cash flow – to bring people back into the business,” he said.
“There are those who were not eligible for JobKeeper payments and hopefully we will be able to re-employ some of those people.”
Licensed venues will be required to fill out COVIDSafe paperwork available on the government website to ensure they follow the principles put in place.
“The set-up of a particular venue will dictate just how many they can have up to the cap of 80,” South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said yesterday.
