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AUSTRALIA DAY HONOURS, PAGES 4 & 5
29 JANUARY - 11 FEBRUARY, 2021
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An outstanding field
(Louisa Jones) 226341_12
Emily Lyons got her inner scarecrow happening in the lead-up to the Great Australian Scarecrow Competition. The inaugural competition attracted 55 entries and organisers are hoping to double that tally this year. The scarecrows will be situated along the fence of Flying Brick Cider Co, Bellarine Highway, Wallington. ■ Full story: Page 7
Bumper business By Justin Flynn Businesses across the Bellarine are reporting a bumper high-summer season after struggling through a COVID-19-affected winter. Although the peninsula remains busy throughout summer, the end of January is usually when many holidaymakers return home as schools prepare to reopen. But many local businesses told the Voice they had experienced strong numbers this season, with cooler than average summer temperatures failing to deter tourists from flocking to the region, many for the first time. Lyndsay Sharp of the Sharp Group, which incorporates Flying Brick Cider Co, Leura
Park Estate, Curlewis Golf Club, Jack Rabbit and Yes Said the Seal, said “the percentage of newcomers to the region is exciting for both our community and local economy”. “So many patrons have let us know they have just moved to the region, have purchased a holiday house down our way or are renting for 12 months to see how they like it with a view to relocating – all are from Melbourne,” she said. “Summer trade has been huge across all venues. Even with density quotients, it’s been a record period and everywhere has been thumping.” Aaron D’Arcy of The Mex in Ocean Grove said even though it had been busy, there were still obstacles.
“The main difference for us has been the restrictions in capacity which have limited the numbers of patrons we can serve at any one time,” he said. “As a result, we’ve had to utilise our bar and beer garden for dine-in customers rather than a traditional bar which has meant more of a reliance on food sales. “With this comes a significant burden on the front of house staff to take orders and serve customers spread more thinly throughout the venue. “It has also placed significant pressure on the kitchen who have had to serve more meals than normal while also navigating the increased demand for takeaways that have come out of
COVID restrictions. “Operating two different business models (dine-in and takeaway) has its own challenges – this has been the biggest hurdle for us as we need both revenue streams to remain profitable. “Previously takeaways were not a large proportion of sales so it was much easier to handle. “In all, it’s been a reasonably hard few weeks for everyone due to the stressful year we had to navigate prior to the commencement of the summer holiday period. “We’ve had to change the way we do business many times and weren’t totally sure how it would all play out over the holiday period.”
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