By Ashleigh Fielding | posted on May 22, 2020
WHILE customers are jumping for joy now that pubs and restaurants can open for dine-in service, business owners are bracing themselves for huge losses in the name of trying to help boost the local economy.
Six Degrees was one of a handful of Albany locales that reopened on Monday when some social distancing restrictions were eased.
Now, up to 20 people can be served in a dine-in capacity but it has come at a steep price for Six Degrees.
Owner Anton Davey spent $10,000 in five days to purchase laptops and other essential equipment to adhere to all strict requirements imposed by the State Government.
He also still requires approximately 11 staff to serve 20 customers along with takeaway orders – chefs, waitstaff, and the new administrative roles of recording patron details for COVID-19 tracing and monitoring the sanitiser station.
It’s a business model he says is “no way viable” but he’s prepared to take a loss for two weeks to help reignite the local industry.
“It’s like taking $100 bills and throwing them into the fire,” Mr Davey said.
“But we’ve all got to do our bit to help kickstart the town, we’ve got to get the ball rolling.”
Emma and Rohin Mitchell had lunch at Six Degrees on Tuesday and were happy to get out of the house and support the local economy.
“We’ve been looking forward to a decent pint and food we don’t have to cook,” Mr Mitchell said.
