With no easing of restrictions in sight and the numbers moving in the wrong direction, things are looking bleak for Melbourne hospitality venues who were, just a few weeks ago, preparing to welcome back up to 50 customers at a time. While we hunker down for who knows how long, restaurants and bars are figuring out how they can stay afloat. Enter Hospitality Heroes, an industry-assisting initiative that allows customers around the country to pay now and eat later.
The project is a joint initiative by beverage wholesaler Crush Wine + Drinks and Mitchelton’s Preece Wines. The idea is simple: customers buy a $100 voucher for a venue of their choice, to be redeemed at a time of their choosing. The money goes to the business now, helping it through this challenging period of low trading. To sweeten the deal, customers receive a free three-pack of wines from Preece for every voucher purchased, valued at $60.
“In these extremely challenging times, many of our community restaurants are in desperate need of support… and these very restaurants are involved in soup kitchens, food distribution, and still carry most of their loyal staff’s wage costs,” said Matt Schmidt, founder of Crush Wine + Drinks, in a statement. “In the spirit of hospitality, we ask all Australians to show their support of our industry and become a Hospitality Hero if they can.”
Some of the Melbourne venues you can buy vouchers for include Galah, Matilda, Moon Dog World and the Prince Hotel; restaurants and bars that would like to be added to the initiative can do so by contacting Crush Wine + Drinks.
If you’d like to help out your local, or cheer someone up by gifting them a great night out (and couldn't we all use a pick-me-up right now?), visit the Hospitality Heroes website to purchase a voucher.
