The hospitality industry which has suffered the biggest blow from the pandemic is finally opening up to diners in Victoria starting from Monday 1 June. Neos Kosmos reached out to the Greek restaurant owners to touch base with them and be informed of their plans. Though excited to finally be back in business, there is a certain degree of uncertainty about the future and how the regulations put in place will impact their businesses in the long run.

Smaller venues like Theo’s Cakes in Keilor Park Melbourne, are sticking to their “new normal” which is take-away due to the small space of their eatery, it will be impossible to keep the social distancing regulations. “We are doing fine as we are. We didn’t close at all during lockdown. It was business as usual with our take-away service,” says owner Theologos Karanikolas.

“We don’t want to make any new changes as we are unsure of what might happen down the line. Maybe we will be asked to close again, who knows?”

Degani in Northcote is a popular social hangout that would have the capacity under pre-pandemic conditions, to sit 180 patrons at a time. Tammy Misailidis told Neos Kosmos that they had to restructure the business to allow for take-away service of traditional Greek meals which they will continue to do, even when they open for customers on 1 June. “We will be able to sit 20 patrons inside and another 20 outside. We’ll be alright to sit 50 customers, when the time comes, but more than that will be hard, if we need to keep the social distancing rules in place. A lot of places won’t be able to extend past 50. Some small places won’t even be able to extend to 20 patrons at a time.”

In Sydney, restaurants have already opened with a maximum capacity of 10 patrons which is due to be extended to 50, many restaurants will continue to offer take away, to keep their business afloat.

READ MORE: Oakleigh restaurants get ready to reopen on 1 June – and owners get creative to make it work

Esteemed chef, David Tsirekas, along with his childhood friend Stacey Giaprakas, were on the verge of opening up their new Greek restaurant in Sydney, Homer On Homer, when COVID-19 struck. Everything had to be restructured to open for pick-up only due to lockdown restrictions. Though they will be opening up next Thursday, on 4 June, and have the capacity to welcome 50 patrons, according to NSW regulations, Peter Tsirekas told Neos Kosmos that they will start at a smaller scale with 20 patrons at a time, and take it slow. “Our philosophy at Homer is to go back to the simple ways. It’s a really unusual time. There is a lot of confusion about what people can and can’t do. This uncertainty causes business to be irregular. That is why we are taking one step at a time, to determine where everybody is at, and go slowly with everybody”.

READ MORE: Greece’s cafes and restaurants reopen for business on Monday

The menu will follow the philosophy of our ancestors, sticking to a daily menu that will depend on seasonality and availability of the produce. “We want to be mindful and would like our restaurant to be like our mum’s kitchen, like an old kafeneio, where everything is handmade, and there is no waste.”