Gold was first discovered there at the start of 1851 and later that year, thousands of people had set up mining operations.

The Royal Hotel and general store were built that same year and the public school was established in 1878, but as the gold ran out, the village begun to shrink.

And by the 2016 census, Sofala had a population of 131.

The businesses that remain in town rely heavily on tourism from nearby Bathurst and Mudgee, as well as further afield to Sydney.

But almost all of the businesses in Sofala have been shut for over two months now, as the result of the tough coronavirus restrictions that were introduced back in March.

Even as the restrictions were eased in recent weeks, the Royal Hotel remains one of the only businesses open in the Sofala area and that's just for takeaway.

Royal Hotel owner Sandy Tomkinson said the pub is not planning to open back to normal until Tuesday, June 9, which means it will miss out on its big June long weekend trade.

"We've been doing takeaway this whole time but we're not opening up until next Tuesday," she said.

"We'll wait and see because there's so much confusion about what they've put out with these regulations.

"It's not been good but with takeaway, it makes that you don't have to completely close. You can still connect with the community."

Ms Tomkinson said Sofala is "very quiet" at the moment.

"The [Painted Horse] Cafe has been closed the whole time and they probably won't be open for a while until things are easier with the distancing, because there's not much room inside," she said.

"We realise that the rules were necessary to keep everyone safe, but Sofala is very quiet at the moment.

"We use to get tourists drop by or the workers coming through from Mudgee would drop by too."

One of Sofala's most popular venues for tourists is the Painted Horse Cafe, across the road from the Royal Hotel Cafe.

It opened up back in January 2018 and has been named in the Good Food Guide in 2019 and 2020.

However, as Ms Tomkinson said, the owners have been forced to close the cafe's doors indefinitely.