Melbourne’s restaurant industry could be a “wasteland”

There will be no relief for the Victorian restaurant industry until well into 2021, as Victoria’s lockdown period faces an excruciating extension, which could lead to many restaurants shutting their doors permanently.

Victoria’s hospitality industry is now facing a bleak pre-Christmas period. 

CEO of Restaurant & Catering Australia, Wes Lambert, has told The Australian that the pre- Christmas season is the most profitable time for many hospitality industry businesses as it is when many of them make enough profit to make it through a financial year. 

Lambert said if restaurants are unable to re-open during this period, as Sunday’s roadmap has outlined, it could mean the end of business for many of them.

“The exodus from our industry will continue well into 2021,” Mr Lambert said.

“We are bitterly disappointed that the road map is not in line with other east coast states.

“The hospitality industry did what was asked of it … We are grateful that there is a road map … but the Victorian state government will have to inject cash for restaurants to survive.

“Many didn’t reopen because they were waiting for the cap of 50. Many now won’t make it.”

The extension of restrictions has been condemned by many restaurateurs who spoke to The Australian over the weekend. 

Melbourne restaurant owner Scott Pickett, said Dan Andrews announcement had “delivered another three months of pain”. 

“We have to pivot our business model and look at ways to survive,” he said.

Pickett expressed the preference of having the current lockdown extended for two or three weeks instead of restaurants being reassessed in October, which could mean a “catastrophic” wait for many. 

“My fear is we’re the laughing stock of Australia and the rest of the world.”

Chris Lucas, who operates restaurants in both Melbourne and Sydney, said the Victorian government had handed the hospitality industry  a “death sentence”. 

“Unless he’s prepared to listen to (our) industry which has for months put forward proper, functional plans that work, and strike the right balance between public health and commercial reality, then he will need to inject some serious funding immediately to avoid losing 150,000 hospitality jobs and avoid closing a great deal of Melbourne’s restaurants,” he said. 

Guy Grossi, another prominent Melbourne restaurateur said “we need to learn how to live with the virus. We are never going to get down to zero cases; there is no zero with anything else.

“Sustainable businesses that were doing okay, that were surviving, will not. What are we going to be left with? Desolate wasteland. We don’t want to risk anybody’s health but we do want to work. There are kids out there who work for me who can’t put food on the table and I feel f..king awful about it.”