Well we’ve finally come out of shock and are now dealing with the fall out that is COVID19.

Little did we know after our service last Sunday night that that evening we would cease to trade in the way that this Hotel has done for the past 94 years. We had finished for the night and were packing down the bar when the Prime Minister came on and turned our world upside down.  We had no chance to reduce our stock, to warn our staff or to say good bye to our customers.  Thank goodness for social media!

We’ve moved on and adapted to this new challenge. To everyone who has asked how we are going; thank you. To everyone who has come in and made a purchase even though they don’t really need to; thank you. We are now open from 5-8pm 5 nights per week. This week we started with Monday to Friday but we’ve already changed our mind and we’re opening Saturday night now too. Next week we’ll run Tuesday to Saturday.

We’re taking take away orders from 5pm, and running through with last orders in at 7.30pm. At this stage we’re still managing to provide some work for our staff. Most have been in this week to learn the new ropes. We’ve got new processes and items on the till. We’ve learned how to take EFTPOS payments over the phone and to carry a mobile phone with us (previously taboo at Yarragon Hotel).  We’re lucky in that we are small enough to make changes quickly, our staff adapt, they’re keen, intelligent and very happy to work. Our community is amazing and supportive and that’s really all we can ever ask for.

Tomorrow will be a strange night with no raffles or members draw for the first time in a long time. But you know what? We will survive. When all is said and done, we are so very lucky to live in this community and in this country. All we’re being asked to do is stay home, take it easy and pull our heads in a little bit. It’s not really that hard.

Take care everyone – the better we do at this, the quicker we can get back to normal.