withunannounceddietaryrequirementsis a bitfrustrating,”
shesays.“Butthat'saneasyfix.”LikeChallinor,sheproposes
strictermeasuresaroundpre-paymentsand,additionally,
minimumspends.“Mostoperatorsjustwanttobeableto
continuetoservepeopleaslongastheycan,andthatmight
bethebestwaytodothat.”
AtLeighStreetWineRoom,SaliandNathanSasihave
counteredthesechallengesbyintroducinga systemthatrequires
customerstopurchasea fixedprice$100ticketforFridayand
Saturdaynightbookings.Themoneyis puttowardsthebilland,
intheeventofa no-showoranunprofitablespend-per-head,
thebalanceis retainedbytherestaurant.
Sasisaystheresponsetodatehasbeensupportivebut
believesinitiativeslikeherswouldbenefitfromanindustry-wide
approach.“Ifwe’reallputtinginmeasureswithsomesortof
penaltythatcustomersreceivewhenthere’sa no-show,then
thatmessageis muchstronger.”
Thewidespreadintroductionofsetmenusamongvenues
thathavepreviouslyoffereda la carteis anotherstrategyhelping
smalleateriesmanageminimumspends,whilealsotightening
labourcostsandminimisingfoodwastage.
“Wecutunnecessarycostsbybeingabletoplanaheadfor
everything,”saysRumble,havingintroduceda setmenuon
Pilot’sreopening.“Maybewe’restillina honeymoonperiod,
butwearealreadyseeingnewcustomersturnintorepeatguests,
sohopefullythat'sa goodsign.”
BrettPritchard,co-ownerofRon’sUpstairsintheSydney
suburbofRedfernagreesthatthereducedfoodandlabourcosts
resultingfromsetmenuswillremainimportantformid-size
venueslikehis,aslongasrestrictionsremain.Butheseesit as
a short-termproposition.“I’ma neighbourhoodrestaurantand
peoplesometimesjustwanttodropinfora fewplatesandglass
ofwine.I havecustomersthatwouldn’treturnif weonlyran
a setmenuandI wouldhateif I didn’tseethemagain.”
ButPritchardunderstandsbetterthanmanythatthese
measuresarenotuniversalsolutions.AcrosstheroadfromRon’s,
RedfernContinental– anotherofhisvenues– willnotreopen,
aftertheshutdownexacerbatedpre-existingissues.“PriortoCovid
theindustryhadalreadysuffered
a smalldownturn.Theplacelooked
busy,butit wasinconsistentand
labourcostswerehuge,”hesays.
It’sanoutcomemanypredict
willsoonbeechoedthroughout
thecountry.Butamidstthedarkness
anduncertaintyofa beleaguered,transitioningindustry,there
is alsoa renewedsenseofcommunity.
AmongBenShewry’smanynewundertakingsis AtticaSoup
Project– createdwithfoodwriterDaniValent– whichprovides
mealstooverseashospitalityworkersstrandedinAustralia
withoutgovernmentalsupport.“It’snotgoodenoughtojust
takefromsociety,”saysShewry.“Youneedtocontributeaswell.”
InSydneyandMelbourne,NeilPerryhasmobilisedhis
kitchenstoproducethousandsofmealsa weekfordistribution
tohospitalityworkersandpartneredwithOzHarvesttohelpfeed
womenandchildrenincrisiscentres.Dubbed‘HopeDelivery’,
it’sthekindofoutreachPerrybelievesis incumbent on any
restaurant to provide in this new world.“Arestaurantbelongsto the
community andpartofbeingin
a communityistaking careof
peoplewho are less privileged.”Theinitiativenotonlyimprovestherestaurant’sbottomline,
sheexplains,butprovidesadditionalsupportforthemanysmall
wineproducersLeighStreetWineRoomhighlightsontheirlist.
InSydney,Nomad’sJacquiChallinorsayssmallsuppliers
area crucialwheelintheindustryandfearsthatwithout
significantfinancialreform,restaurantsareriskingtheirown
future.“Somesuppliersarestillowedhundredsofthousands
ofdollarsbyvenues,”shesays.“It’salla chain.If thefarmers
gobustbecausewedon’tpaythem,thenwedon’tgetthe
beautifulproduceanymore.”
NeilPerry,speakingjustdaysbeforeheannouncedhis
retirement,is cautiouslyoptimisticabouttheindustry’sfuture.
Buthesaysrelationshipswithlandlordsrequirea major
overhaul,withmanyremaininginflexibleandrefusingtooffer
assistancewhilerestaurateurssuffer.“Therearea lotofpig-
headedlandlords,”hesays.“Ourmarginshavegottenincredibly
skinnywhiletheirshavegottenfatterandfatter.A lotaregreat,
butsomehavebeenabsolutelyhorrifictodealwith.”
Deliaagreesandis callingonthegovernmenttostepin
withurgentreformstosupportthestrugglingindustry,including
taxreformandlegalsupportwhenit comestodealingwith
landlords.“Wewillfinda way– hospitalityis builtaround
resilience– butwecan’tdoit withanysustainabilityif there’s
nochangesmadetolegislation.”
Andwhilemanywhoworkinhospitalityhavebroadly
praisedtheJobKeeperpaymentscheme(whilealsodecryingthe
abandonmentofinternationalemployeesengagedunderworking
visas),therearebroadfearsfortheindustrywhenit comestoan
end,withPerrybelievingthatuptoa thirdofallrestaurantswill
eithernotreopenorfailwhenJobKeeperends.
Amongotherimminentthreatstothefutureoftheindustry,
arethedeferredrentpaymentsandsimilar“quickfixes”
businessesagreedtoduringtheshutdown,saysSasi.Agreeing
toholdoffpaymentscreatesa temporarycashflowboost,she
explains,butthepainbeginswhentherenegotiatedduedate
arrives.“Unlessyou’reabsolutelyskyrocketingyourprices,
yourbusinessmodelwon’tworkwhenthosedebtskickin.”
Navigatingthesechallenges,the chefs agree, will require
anunprecedentedlevelof
cooperationfromcustomers,
supportingrestaurantsastheymake
changestosecuretheirsurvival.
Onlyhoursafterrestaurants
weregiventhegreenlighttoreopen
inJune,reportsofno-shows,late
arrivalsandotherlong-standingfrustrationhitsocialmedia,
leadingmanytoquicklyimplementstrictpoliciesondeposits
andpre-payments.
“I’dliketoseetakingcreditcarddetailswithreservations
becomethenorm,”saysChallinor.“Thedamagethatwesee
fromno-showsis huge,andit’ssodisrespectful.”Shebelieves
customersoftentakerestaurantsforgranted,astheydon’t
understandtheslimprofitmarginsandrestrictivebusiness
conditionsmostoperatorstradeunder.
DashRumble,co-ownerofCanberra’sPilot,believesguests
needtobemorediligentinreadinga venue’stermsand
conditionswhenmakinga booking.“Theamountoftimes
someone is shocked by a two-hour booking window, or arrives52 GOURMET TRAVELLER
PHOTOGRAPHYPETEDILLON(DELIA),LEAN TIMMS (PILOT)& COLIN PAGE (ATTICA AT HOME).