With new variants and constant changes in our everyday lives during the global pandemic, many businesses have found a way to adapt to the current climate.
Since 2020 outdoor dining has increased as the State Government presented the outdoor dining program. The program aims to support over 7,000 hospitality venues by giving them permits to extend their outdoor dining areas to cater to the never-ending restrictions. This helps many restaurants and cafes stay afloat throughout a challenging time as well as reassures the safety of customers that intend to dine.
The City of Melbourne installed outdoor dining in parklets across 100 locations. Although the deadline of the program is March 2022, council officers will investigate to make the outdoor venues permanent as they weigh out the benefits of pop-up outdoor dining spaces and what it can do for the state as well as small businesses.
However, businesses that already have outdoor dining are in luck as they have the opportunity to grow their own space and use it to their advantage. Restaurants such as Arundel Farm Estate located just a short 15-minute drive from the Melbourne Airport have been able to adapt to these restrictions with a Covid- Safe dining area as an outdoor extension to their restaurant.
Guests are able to enjoy the beautiful surrounds of greenery and peace as the restaurant is located up a hill where you can take in the sounds of nature as well as visit the horses and ponies at the paddock.
The family owned vineyard and restaurant offer wine tasting at their cellar door as well as a delicious range of Italian food from homemade pastas such as cannelloni and gnocchi, to a wide variety of wood fired pizzas from a classic margherita to meat lovers, which customers have been able to enjoy in their outdoor dining area as well as a newly added marquee.
The area also features a roof to prepare for Melbourne’s unpredictable weather as well as heaters for the colder season. Which is something that many other outdoor venues may not have considered if they intend to keep their venues to last throughout winter.
As the program ends at the end of Summer this may be something that many businesses will consider developing on their own venue property as cold weather is a factor that may draw customers away as they don’t want to go out in cold open areas in fear of getting sick due to the on-going pandemic.
Arundel Farm Estate aims to develop their outdoor dining venue to cater to more people in a Covid-Safe way. The plan is to implement new entertainment spaces for customers as part of our ‘new normal’.
Thankfully there are now ways that hospitality venues can stay in business and operate even if it means taking things to the footpath and parking lot.
