Not that owner Toby Jones is complaining.

"It's nice to be able to feel that we can do something rather than just be hunkered down in isolation and worrying about the viability of the business," he said.

The bars and restaurants the distillery supplies were feeling the effects of the initial social restrictions because of coronavirus when Mr Jones and his wife Sue saw a story about a UK distillery that had switched to producing hand sanitiser.

"We started talking about it over that weekend, saying maybe that's something we could do," he said.

"I've been going flat out ever since trying to procure the ingredients and get all the compliance."

READ ALSO:

Bathurst Regional Council will be one of Bathurst Grange's first hand sanitiser customers.

"We have got a big mining company interested and Simplot [interested as well]," Mr Jones said.

"Major food producers are worrying about their staff.

"The last thing that you want is to have an outbreak [of coronavirus] in Bathurst within our industry because that would be disastrous for the region and for employment.

"Keeping people safe who are continuing to work - and we need them to continue to work wherever possible - has got to be the priority at the moment and it's the priority for us and a lot of other suppliers."

Mr Jones said it was not too big a stretch to go from producing alcohol to hand sanitiser in terms of the mechanics of the operation and what it is licensed to do, but finding the ingredients was proving challenging as demand surges.

Councillor Jess Jennings, who knows the Jones family, said it was good to see a small business able to find a new product and market in difficult times.

"It's excellent that local people have shown this sort of initiative to turn what is a dire situation into an opportunity to improve public safety - particularly from a council point of view, but also from an economic benefit point of view," he said.

"I knew that council was running short of sanitiser and was also in touch with Toby, so put two and two together and that seems to have worked out in the short term.

"But I also think council may be able to play a role in having sanitiser being dispensed in more places around town than just council assets - potentially other areas like supermarkets or places like post offices or even on the street.

"Council staff would have to assess how that could work, but there's an opportunity there."

Cr Jennings said Bathurst Grange was reducing the impact of the crisis as it unfolds, but "there's also an opportunity for a path to recovery quicker if more businesses can get back to work sooner because they have access to things like sanitiser".