Beers still flowing at the Espy, but others close

THERE’S heartbreak and angst again in the hotel trade as two local pubs close temporarily, and another discontinues food service under a different sort of pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic.

This time it’s a lack of staff, unavailable to work as the virus hits 1:20 aged in their 20s, either as household contacts or positive cases, who picked up the virus at New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Emerging as one of the biggest local super-spreader events is the New Year’s Eve on the Hill festival at Krowera where thousands of youngsters in close contact moshed in the New Year to bands like Art vs Science.

The latest local venue to announce that it is closing for five days is the Westernport Hotel at San Remo.

They follow The Cape Tavern at Cape Paterson which closed on Thursday until further notice.

“It finally caught up to us. It’s not easy to say, but due to the situation unfolding around us we have decided to close today and reopen next Wednesday,” said the Westernport team on Friday.

“We apologise if you had a booking with us but your safety and the safety and well-being of our staff is our priority. We will contact you all to try and reschedule.

“It’s time for us to bunker down for a few days - see you Wednesday for a Parma and a beer!”

It was a similar sentiment from the Esplanade Hotel at Inverloch, although while the food is off, the beers are still flowing.

“Similar to most Hospo venues and pubs in Victoria, we’ve battled with staff availability since Christmas as a result of the impacts of COVID and isolation,” said the Espy on Friday.

“Today was sadly the tipping point and we’ve had to make the difficult decision to close down all food and bistro operations for the next four days. We’ll reassess our situation on Tuesday and provide an update then.

“At this stage, we’ll continue to trade in all other areas of the business. We appreciate your kind words, understanding and patience in recent times,” The Espy Team.

It’s a real tragedy for the sector, and its workforce, after battling the ravages of lockdowns and impossible restrictions for more than two years now, only to have to suffer the hardest cut of all, right in the middle of a busy and vital holiday season.

Around the Bass Coast and South Gippsland, other hospitality venues including cafés, restaurants and bakeries have hard to either close, reduce hours or reduce product lines due to a lack of staff.

And it's not just hospitality.

Bass Coast Health, which operates the Wonthaggi Hospital, Phillip Island Health Hub, Griffiths Point Lodge and Kirrak House, has furloughed as many as 60 staff in the past few days as either positive cases or household contacts, who came into contact with COVID-19 in the general community.

This is expected to be the case for most businesses.

The good news, if there can be any at this stage, is that pandemic experts are saying we’ll come off the peak of the latest surge in cases by late January, however by then the peak of the holiday season will also be over.