“I had to sit there with a smile on my face and tell them it was going to be OK, but for me I would go to bed at night thinking ‘Are we ever going to open again?’.”
The Commercial ’s FORESIGHT AND FLEXIBILITY A GAME-CHANGER WORDS: JOSH TEAKLE
One thing we have learned from Covid-19 is that sometimes a pub doesn’t have to be open for the community to feel welcomed. That’s the mantra Commercial Hotel publican Stacey Butler took with her into the pandemic shutdown.
“They would come into the bottle shop drive-thru every day to have a chat and maybe buy a beer which was good because what worried us the most was knowing that these people might feel a bit lonely.
It was a time when hotels had no idea when they would be allowed to open again and for some, an extended lockdown would put them out of business.
“It was important for people to know that while we may not be open and things aren’t the way they were, we are still here. We wanted them to come through and say ‘hi’.”
Stacey’s popular Strathalbyn pub joined the mass of SA hotels closing their doors in March, and while she acted swiftly to put survival plans in place, the welfare of her staff and rusted-on locals remained at the forefront of her mind.
Strathalbyn is a picturesque town of approximately 6500 people, located 57 km southeast of Adelaide on the Fleurieu Peninsula. It has a thriving local and regional community and is a favourite for people travelling from Adelaide to Victor Harbor and Goolwa.
“For us, country pubs are where people come to celebrate, grieve or have some company,” she said. So having that shut, we were really worried about how our customers were going.
“We are a small town and I couldn’t do what I do without the community support,” said Stacey.
“There was a lot of checking on people that live on their own, work odd hours or don’t have a big friendship group. Back to Contents
“We have always been involved with sponsoring the sporting clubs, individuals and quiz nights and I can’t believe how many people stood up to come and help us in return.” W W W . A H A S A . A S N . A U
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