PARTY SEASON RETURNS WITH ANITA ARMANASCO

WITH COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS EASING IN QUEENSLAND,ANITA ARMANASCO IS READY TO PARTY

"I can remember sitting at Fitzy’s on a Saturday night with my brother and you could literally hear crickets. People were starting to get scared and began staying home. COVID was getting real."

The fourth-generation publican and marketing manager of the iconic Toowoomba pub, Fitzy's, said things spiraled quickly from there with pubs and clubs the first domino to fall - leaving Fitzy’s completely closed for 10 weeks.

“I know we weren’t alone, but it was a really tough time," Anita said. “We invited our staff down to the pub the day it closed and there was pizza and beers and we laughed, we cried and said goodbye for who knows how long,” she said.

“It was especially hard when you’ve worked with some of these people for over ten years and they’re your friends, and they have families. It was heart-breaking.”W

ith Anita and her husband moving in with her parents for an expected six-month closure, she said her time in lock down was spent brainstorming ways to get back in business.“

When you’re living in such close quarters with uncertainty hanging heavily, it can bring out the worst but also the best people. As a family we chose to look forward as much as we could. But having unlimited access to wine was also handy at this time,” she said, laughing.“

People were still calling the pub every day hoping for insider information and I’m sure some thought that we had a direct line to the Premier. But there were also people just calling to check in, and that was really nice.”

“Being a local, family business seems to resonate during tough times, particularly in a small town. There were a lot of people rallying behind us and we did what we could to support our community in return.”

“We donated food to charities like Base Services and supported staff where we could. We started new initiatives like ‘Fitzy’s at Home’ meal kits to get things back into motion. Along with Job Keeper that really got us through until we reopened, which was thankfully a lot sooner than we thought.” Reopening with full table service only and no-standing restrictions wasn’t without its challenges.

“We’re blessed to have such a large venue. So as far as capacity goes, we have been able to cater for a good number of patrons. “But the ever-changing restrictions and no-standing rule put a lot of pressure on our team. At one point we were thrown a curve ball with huge step backwards. We were back to fully seated and it was effective immediately, on a Friday afternoon no less.”

“We kind of felt like school headmasters; tapping people on the shoulder telling them to take a seat but we did what we had to do to keep them safe.” Anita said thankfully the vibe completely changed after the seating restriction was lifted.“

It was like a flick of a switch. It was joyous to see how something so simple could put smiles on our patrons’ faces again. And ours too. A sense of normality had been restored and people were happy again.”W

ith restrictions set to slowly lift even more, Anita said she’s looking forward to a pub filled with patrons ready to party 2020 away.“

We love being back and helping to restore some of that escapism people have missed out on for so long.”“

And though there will be some restrictions and conditions still in place for a long time, like contact tracing, there is still a lot of fun to be had, especially with Christmas coming.” With several function rooms available, parties are logistically possible while adhering to the current guidelines.“

First and foremost, we are still committed to keeping our patrons and staff safe. Unfortunately, this isn’t over and it’s our job to help people get through these difficult times in a safe way. For us, it’s business as normal, just a new kind of normal.“

That said, I can’t wait for the first time we can open the dance floor. I can imagine the elation people will feel being able to dance freely and let their hair down. Just the freedom of it. “That right now would be the icing on the Christmas cake.”

FITZY'S TOOWOOMBA 5

3 MARGARET ST, TOOWOOMBAW

WW.FITZYS.COM

074 631 3700