Crown Melbourne’s premium restaurants struggle to stay open
Melbourne’s Crown precinct is struggling to keep its premium restaurants open.
The entertainment giant has been forced to slash opening hours and instate capacity restrictions as the skilled worker shortage bites.
It’s not good timing for Crown as crowds moving through the precinct are expected to swell during the AFL finals series and the Spring Racing Carnival.
The Christmas period may also be affected.
The state of Victoria is short 4500 chefs, with Crown’s restaurants not immune.
To combat the shortage, the food service industry has called for faster visa processing to fill desperately needed positions and avoid slowing down the economic recovery.
“We’ve made decisions in certain places to close the restaurants because of the lack of staffing,” Crown Melbourne’s executive general manager of food and beverage, Enda Cunningham said.
“People come to us for an experience and to be able to have a choice of restaurants.
“If you’re coming here early in the week, unfortunately, that choice isn’t available to the standard that we pride ourselves on.”
The once a thriving seven day a week dining experience is now in tatters, with just half of Crown’s 60 restaurants and bars are open Monday to Wednesday.
All are open Thursday to Saturday, however capacity has been slashed 20-40 per cent across the board.
Only the Conservatory and a couple of other restaurants are at full capacity.
Australian Foodservice Advocacy Body board member Wes Lambert said: “Without foundation industries like accommodation food service, which underpin the entire economy, Australia’s recovery post-pandemic will be slowed.”
Lambert, like Cunningham called for extra time and resources into training new, younger staff and said the industry needed to better promote its career opportunities. He also called on the federal government to make it easier for overseas workers to get visas.
According to Skills Minister Brendan O’Connor, the Albanese government would consider lifting the migrant intake.
Irit Jackson, 15th August 2022
