SO close to reopening, but not yet.
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Despite nearby Oberon coming out of lockdown recently, the Tarana Hotel, east of Bathurst, has been forced to keep its doors closed because it's just within the border of the Lithgow council area.
Owner Karen Moyes says it's "a little frustrating", but she understands the health imperatives and is very supportive of keeping the village COVID-free.
"You know, that's a motivating factor. The closure has been a bit difficult financially, but we're okay," she said.
"We're hoping lockdown lifts soon so we can reopen, especially now the weather is so beautiful."
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Ms Moyes said she offered takeaway during the first lockdown, but has had to make the tough decision to close the doors completely this time around.
"It [takeaway] just really wasn't a financially viable option for us because there's not enough people around," she said.
Ms Moyes also said she saw a big drop in turnover when Sydney first went into lockdown "because it's [Tarana] that kind of destination pub".
OTHER RECENT BUSINESS STORIES:
"People come for day trips from all over; hopefully that can happen again soon," she said.
Despite the hardships, Ms Moyes said the downtime had been beneficial in getting little jobs done around the place.
"We've been able to tidy up the courtyard, trim all the trees and, you know, give it a good clean out and organise stuff," she said.
"There's been an advantage with the lockdown because when you're open seven days a week, you don't get time to do that stuff."
She said she was hopeful and excited to reopen.
"We're watching case numbers every day and we'll be requiring people to be vaccinated; we're not quite sure how we're going to police that, but I'm assuming more information will come out from the government at some stage," she said.
"But yeah, we are excited to open up; we've been redesigning the menu a little bit and doing some practice cooking.
"Plus, coming into summer we're quite excited about opening up the courtyard and getting people there to enjoy that beautiful view and the peacefulness of Tarana."