By NICKI LETTS

LOCAL pubs and restaurants are getting ready to open their doors to patrons on June 1, but the strict rules are putting a spanner in the works for some.

Victorians have not been able to sit down at a café or restaurant since March 23.

That’s all about to change. From Monday, venues will be able to host up to 20 people in an enclosed space as part of a staged reopening of the hospitality industry.

That number is expected to increase to 50 from June 22 and to 100 patrons from mid-July.

Wandi Pub’s co-owner Tim Heuchan said they have already started taking bookings.

“The June long weekend is almost fully booked. Everyone is really keen, and we’ll do whatever we can to get back open,” he said.

But Mr Heuchan said it’s hard to start planning logistics properly.

“We’ve still got a bit of work to do. But I’m a bit sceptical because things are changing every day and the rules will probably change again before next week.”

As they stand, the rules are strict.

Each person will need four square metres of space, and tables will need to be spread out at least 1.5 metres apart.

As well as the physical distancing requirements, venues will need to take the contact details of every customer to assist with contact tracing.

Also, while pubs can reopen, bar service is not yet allowed. They can only offer table service to serve food.

Harrietville Snowline Hotel owner Bennett Mountjoy said the strict rules mean they still “don’t have the luxury” to open seven days a week.

“Until we can open at capacity, we will only do reduced hours on the weekends,” he said.

“The most frustrating thing is that we still don’t have all the details. We’re not sure what ‘enclosed space’ means, so we can’t say exactly how many people we’re allowed to seat.”

Mr Mountjoy said the support from the locals has been great during the lockdown, but it’s “barely covered costs”.

“Eighty per cent of our business is tourism, so we’ve just been doing what we can to keep our head chef, Ciaran, occupied. He’s on a 457 visa which means he’s not eligible for government support.”

Even when they reopen, Mr Mountjoy said it will be some time before the business is in profit.

“The cold hard reality for us is that we might not make money until November,” he said.

“But we’ll work with whatever we’ve got. We see ourselves as the town hub and we want to be open for the community.”

Back in Bright, the interior of Bright Brewery has never looked so bare, with many tables removed and the remainder spaced out in anticipation of the new rules.

“We're planning to reopen on June 1 for dine-in customers, we're just waiting on clarification of how many we can accommodate,” said Bright Brewery marketing manager Laura Gray.

“We'll be launching our new winter menu and can't wait to welcome people back.”

However, not all the pubs and restaurants can justify reopening next week.

Porepunkah Pub co-owner Janelle Marsden said they are waiting for restrictions to be relaxed more before opening their doors.

“We’re super excited to open when we can, but we need it to be viable from a community health and safety and a financial point of view.”

“It’s tough. But the main thing we ask is for people to be patient with us – it’s a big expense to reopen and we won’t have a second chance at it.”