WHEN Victorian cafes began trading by takeaway only in March, Hydrant Food Hall\u2019s Elise Rowe instantly knew that was going to be a tough market for her business.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithin two days, we closed. Those two days were just so quiet, and if we were to continue it wouldn\u2019t have been viable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe never thought, that\u2019s it. But we knew If we had any chance of surviving this pandemic, and getting through to the other side, we needed to close.\u201d<\/p>\n
Initially prepared to keep their doors shut at the McKenzie Street caf\u00e9 for six months, Mrs Rowe hopes to reopen by the end of June.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, the wellbeing of her workforce has been a priority.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe spent some time with our staff, who I don\u2019t think understood the reality of what was happening at the time, and the fact that we were closing. It changed their whole world,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of them are younger, we\u2019ve got students and full-time workers who now didn\u2019t have a job. It\u2019s also their purpose for getting out of bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to retain as many staff as we could, so we\u2019ve been keeping in touch, checking in on mental health, and making sure that they\u2019re okay and supported. That\u2019s been our mission while we have been closed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Making a few alterations in the cafe while they can, the Hydrant team is aware, and realistic about the fact that their business, like many, is virtually going back to the start again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been spending this time, trying to navigate our way through what we have to change to make it viable in whatever the new norm is. There\u2019s a lot of recovery,\u201d Mrs Rowe said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll bring in some more takeaway options to what we previously had, make them more well known, and visible, and make some changes within the venue to try and make sure there\u2019s less contact points.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnknowingly, we\u2019ve made these changes that were always on our to-do list, that are actually going to work really well with the new hospitality guidelines we\u2019ve been given.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mrs Rowe and her husband, Sam are \u201cpeople-people,\u201d looking forward having customers and workers return.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe miss the social aspect. The family we\u2019ve got in our staff, we\u2019ve missed, and we\u2019re excited to bring them back.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, and the wood fire,\u201d she laughed. \u201cWe\u2019re really looking forward to cranking that up again.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WHEN Victorian cafes began trading by takeaway only in March, Hydrant Food Hall\u2019s Elise Rowe instantly knew that was going to be a tough market for her business. \u201cWithin two days, we closed. Those two days were just so quiet, and if we were to continue it wouldn\u2019t have been viable,\u201d she said. \u201cWe never […]<\/p>\n