Bathurst RSL Club might be among the last of the local venues in town to reopen but, as the old saying goes, slow and steady wins the race.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The venue will reopen on Friday, June 12, and general manager Peter Sargent said he's excited to welcome patrons, members and non-members, back.
"We're conscious it's taken us a little bit longer than most, but we're definitely looking forward to Friday," Mr Sargent said.
"The extra time has allowed us to repaint and refresh everything behind the scenes, and our staff have played a major role in ensuring everything is ready to go."
Mr Sargent said patrons can expect the same welcoming service with a fresh sheen, plenty of sanitising stations and social distance-friendly setups in place.
"We'll be able to cater for a capacity of 267, which makes it much more feasible for us to reopen than we first thought," he said.
"In addition, the coffee shop will be bigger and our gaming room has changed slightly."
The RSL Club has been able to act on a number of important maintenance projects during the shutdown period, including a deep clean, a new extractor fan for the kitchen and upgrades to refrigeration and bathroom facilities.
Mr Sargent said the club's decision to retain staff on the payroll prior to JobKeeper's rollout last month has helped keep spirits high.
"We've kept quite a few of our staff engaged with the club through renovation works, which has been excellent as it allowed them to maintain some form of routine," he said.
"Their efforts have gone a long way to ensure we can return with a sense of normalcy."
"Friday's reopening will certainly be a positive start, but we're of course looking forward to the day where we're able to return to full capacity again."
The RSL Club will reopen this Friday from 10am. Members will be asked to provide contact details for contact tracing purposes.
For all things Bathurst in the one place, sign up now to our free morning headlines email!
Sam Bolt
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
