The Wharf, Bojangles and Flying Horse adapt businesses in response to lockdown 5.0

Port Fairy's The Wharf was forced to sell more than 120 kilograms of freshly-caught seafood at a reduced rate on Saturday.

Head chef Sean Malady said he'd placed his orders prior to Thursday afternoon's announcement that Victoria was going into a fifth lockdown that night.

Mr Malady said with such short notice it was too late to cancel the orders and had a pop-up sale to cover his costs and avoid having to throw it out.

Among the items were almost 26 kilos of gummy shark, 50 kilos of muscles, 20 dozen oysters, 22 kilos of salmon and 10 kilograms of scallops.

He opened at 10 am and it was all sold within two hours.

"It was a lot busier than I thought it was going to be, it was great to see the support. The local community really got behind it.

"I discounted it just to offload it and people were pumped. By 11am they were saying 'can I get this?' and I said 'no it's sold out'."

Prior to the latest lockdown, the business was trading Friday to Monday in the restaurant and for takeaway. The business remains closed until the lockdown ends as he said takeaway-only wasn't viable.

"Because of COVID-19 we've struggled to get staff so we were just doing the four days and we were getting hammered for four days and now we're back to nothing," Mr Malady said.

He said Tuesday's announcement that the lockdown would be extended was disappointing for the town, which heavily relied on visitors during the winter months.

"That means this weekend is gone which is a massive blow for Port Fairy. It's the last Winter Weekends and it's normally a really good weekend for the town so it will be a massive blow for the town.

"It is what it is. It would be different if there were cases in the area but because there's no cases anywhere near us it's extra tough. The funding from the government we'll take but it's not a huge amount. It'll cover the rent and pay a couple of overheads and that's about it.

"It's been a tough gig but when we're open we've got a huge local following which is fantastic."

Bojangles co-owner Simon Mugavin said the lockdown extension "while disappointing was expected".

He said since the latest lockdown restaurant staff had been redeployed and skilled in the kitchen, while the business was takeaway only.

Mr Mugavin said they had introduced various pizza and pasta deals since the pandemic to keep customers coming through the door.

He said they would look at introducing more specials this week in light of the extension announcement and continue to look after their staff.

"We'll try and fit people into rosters as much as we possibly can and keep the wheels turning for another week," Mr Mugavin said.

He said he had ordered the bare minimum prior to Tuesday's extension announcement in a bid to minimise wastage from the snap lockdown.

"There was a bit of stock lost," Mr Mugavin said. "A lot of it can't be used unfortunately. Things like oysters and seafood which is a real shame because you don't know when you're going to be able to replace it. You've just got to wait and see."

"There's the smaller things like all the bottles of wine which are sold by the glass, they're all in the bin.

"It's not just food products, it's wine as well and then you've got to keep an eye on the dates of everything. Last night I made a heap of basil oil because I had so many bunches of basil and no way of using it.

"I've been in Bojangles for 35 years. Unfortunately my plan wasn't to run a takeaway shop. It was to run a restaurant as well but that's just the nature of the beast at the moment. We've just got to make the most of it and get through this as quickly as we possibly can.

Mr Mugavin said he was grateful for the support from locals.

"We're certainly still busy which is good. We're very thankful for that."

Flying Horse owner Matthew Monk said businesses had to be prepared for everything.

"It's disappointing but you sort of understand that everyone else in the industry and small businesses are in the same boat so there's not much you can do," Mr Monk said.

"It's just such a momentum killer."

He said in the uncertain times he tried to focus on his staff and their wellbeing.

"Sometimes you're thinking about your business but in more cases than not, your staff is your business so it's about getting around them and making sure they're okay and comfortable and feeling alright about everything," Mr Monk said.

He said coming out of lockdowns was "possibly trickier" as customers and staff members had to adapt to changing rules.

"We've found each time we came out of them, that period in the first stages is probably the most frustrating because it's not normal and it's a lot more work and stress on our staff with bookings and managing customer expectations."

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