Food vans, increased outdoor dining, greater use of a food ordering app, free training for wait staff and baristas, and better communications with visitors could be some of the things used to help meet expected high demand as the coast prepares for the summer season.
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After the shock of larger than expected numbers over the October long weekend and school holidays, eateries were left exhausted and visitors were angry. Merimbula Tourism manager Chris Nicholls said the centre fielded a number of complaints about food outlets not being open or too busy.
However, restaurant and cafe owners are battling reduced size venues due to COVID restrictions and severe staff shortages and on Monday evening the Merimbula Chamber of Commerce held a meeting for the hospitality industry to discuss the issues.
The indicators were there. We're finding a larger number of people from north of Nowra, Sydney and much further inland visiting, but it took us by surprise.
- Patrick Cornthwaite, Cranky Cafe owner Merimbula.
Patrick Cornthwaite of Cranky's Cafe was blunt in his summation of the upcoming season.
"As a region we're incapable of weathering the storm if the [Victoria/NSW] border is open. We can just about do it if they are closed," he said.
"The indicators were there. We're finding a larger number of people from north of Nowra, Sydney and much further inland visiting, but it took us by surprise," Mr Cornthwaite admitted.
He wants council to make extended outdoor seating easier to do for cafes and restaurants until the distancing rules change.
Food van owners Kalaru Kitchen said they were looking at ways to come in and help pick up the slack but needed somewhere with shelter so that food could still be served even if it was raining. There was discussion around where food vans could park and how shelter - perhaps using portable gazebos - could be provided.
President of the Merimbula Chamber Nigel Ayling encouraged food vendors to use a locally developed food ordering app, 365 Cups, to help with the flow of orders. The app allows people to browse the menu, order and pay for food before arriving at the cafe to pick up a takeaway.
We have hit our limit (of 300 people in the club) several times within the last couple of weeks.
- Damien Foley CEO of Club Sapphire, Merimbula
Secretary-manager at the Merimbula RSL Club Michael Mutsch said normally they could do up 750 covers in the night but were now reduced to 300 people total in the club. The same rules applied to Club Sapphire where CEO Damien Foley said they had "hit the limit several times in the last couple of weeks".
Eateries 'smashed' as visitors pour in over the school holidays
It would appear that despite political focus on job losses, in fact there is a severe shortage of staff particularly in hospitality with some employers pointing to JobKeeper/JobSeeker.
But Deidre Jory from Bega TAFE said the numbers simply weren't coming through the hospitality courses with just four local students and 14 from Cooma.
We did 150 pizzas in two hours and it was so busy we had to turn off the phones.
- Grapevine Pizza, Merimbula
Hospitality staff working in the NSW snowfields usually head for coast when the season finishes but this year has been different. The snowfields often attract international workers but of course there were none of those and it is believed that many out of state staff would have headed back home with JobSeeker payments.
The staff shortages are taking their toll. On the Saturday night of the long weekend Grapevine Pizzas did 150 pizzas in two hours and it was so busy they had to turn off their phone. Speaking at the meeting the owner said people were "just so angry". In addition five staff were not available to work in the school holidays which exacerbated the situation.
President of the Merimbula Chamber of Commerce Nigel Ayling said Pambula Pizzas were also smashed and couldn't keep up with demand.
Anthony Daly of the Wharf Restaurant, Merimbula said they had moved to takeaways during COVID and that has kept them going, but the difficulty was how to deal with a restaurant full of people and a queue for takeaways.
We are still getting people arguing with us about having to sign in.
- Nosh, Merimbula
At Nosh the cafe is still trying to get staff and the owner is worried about the pressure on existing staff as they try to clear and sanitise before someone else sits down at a table - particularly as "there are still people arguing with us about having to sign in".
Patrick Cornthwaite at Crankys said there were still a number of people not doing the right thing (in terms of social distancing) and it was something that worried staff when there were people who didn't seem to care.
Early removal of social distancing rules would scare the crap out of me.
- Patrick Cornthwaithe, Cranky Cafe, Merimbula
"Early removal of social distancing rules would scare the crap out of me" Mr Cornthwaite said.
Cafe owners have looked outside the Bega Valley but with little or no accommodation available it is hard to entice staff to move.
In the meantime cafe and restaurant owners encourage people to book if they are planning a night out.
Free short courses in hospitality available
Founded by Lucas Scarpin and Kylee Cowgill, Walan Miya is a vocational training organisation. Mr Scarpin said that the organisation had government funding and was able to provide courses for the hospitality industry. These would include short courses for wait staff, baristas and kitchen hands.
Walan Miya is accredited with the Australian Skills Quality Authority, and has attracted 21 courses from the Smart & Skilled program, with subjects covering local government, construction, conservation, agriculture and land management.
The training would be free and he urged employers and those looking for work in the hospitality industry to take advantage of the courses which will be held in Merimbula. For more information email info@walanmiya.com.au or phone 1300 643 484.
