I've spent thousands of dollars on advertising in Warrnambool and across the state.
- Steve Phillpot
A change at Hotel Warrnambool could spell the end of an era.
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Owner Steve Phillpot said the hotel's restaurant would no longer offer a la carte dining.
Mr Phillpot said he had been forced to make changes to the way the hotel operates due to staff shortages.
"We won't have a la carte dining anymore," Mr Phillpot said. "People can still book a table but they will need to come to the bar to order it."
Mr Phillpot said despite the COVID-19 pandemic necessitating the change, he was taking the opportunity to create a comfortable, relaxed area where people could meet and enjoy a bite to eat and a drink. He said the same menu would be served in the restaurant and the bar. "We've put a few couches in there and a few higher tables - it will be more casual dining.
"We will have quite an extensive menu and we will also run some specials," he said.
Mr Phillpot said he was disappointed he had been forced to change the way the restaurant, which opened nearly 30 years ago, operated.
"It's virtually impossible to find anyone," he said.
"I've spent thousands of dollars on advertising in Warrnambool and across the state. I've been advertising for months and I haven't had an application."
Mr Phillpot said the business relied solely on the sale of food and beverages.
"We don't have pokies, we don't have a high-turnover bottle shop - we're a straight food and beverage business - that's our only income source," he said.
Mr Phillpot said he usually had up to 10 chefs, but was operating with five.
He said the COVID-19 pandemic had been "devastating" to the business.
"We're still living with COVID but we've been trying to operate the same way we did pre-COVID. You have to change the way you operate if you want to keep the doors open."
Mr Phillpot said he had been forced to close the restaurant this week due to staff shortages. "We've got people off with COVID, people off with the flu and people off with other illnesses," he said.
Mr Phillpot said he hoped to one day return to a la carte dining. "Ideally we would like to return to a la carte dining," he said.
"If circumstances present change and we can get some qualified staff back in the game, we will go back to it but for now we've just had to go back to basics."
Hotel Warrnambool is just one of the many south-west businesses struggling to find staff.
Bojangles Restaurant owner Simon Mugavin told The Standard in March he was finding it difficult to fill vacancies for the first time in four decades. "It's beyond tough," Mr Mugavin said.
He said he was seeking a pizza chef, wait staff, delivery drivers and dishwashers.
Earlier this month the state government announced hospitality and tourism industry trainees would be paid up to $10,000 above award wages in a statewide plan to boost staff.
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