Good times flow again for hotels and cafes

The good times are flowing once again in Narrogin as beers are poured at pubs and coffee is brewing at cafes for dine-in customers — the first in two months. Only three cases of COVID-19 remained active in WA as of Monday as phase two of the State Government’s COVID-19 recovery guidelines were implemented. Under the guidelines, hospitality venues are allowed to seat 20 people for meals in compliance with the nationwide 4sqm rule. New Cornwall Hotel manager Manisha Barthakur said people could not wait for the venue’s doors to open. “All the customers have been saying how much they missed this place,” she said. “It’s been such a lively atmosphere throughout the day and it’s just nice to come back.” The most popular meal on the menu was the Aussie pub classic chicken parmigiana, while the top choice of beer was Swan Draught. The “Corny” served about 50 dine-in customers on Monday, with all guests required to abide by social distancing and hygiene practices. Ms Barthakur said on average there were no more than 12 customers in the Wintercourt Bar at one time. Friends Tyrone Doust and Caleb McBlane had been waiting since March to grab a drink together at the pub. “It tastes amazing. I’ve been waiting the entire lockdown for this moment,” Mr Doust said. “I finished work and I ran straight here. “It’s the greatest moment for me in the past eight weeks.” The pair said they would be making the most of the relaxed restrictions. Health Minister Roger Cook said it was the good work of the WA community which had made the relaxation of restrictions possible. “Now is the time for West Australians to really shine, to demonstrate to the rest of Australia how we go about reopening our economy, how we go about returning to our cafes and pubs, how we actually go about re-energising the community,” Mr Cook said.