As the NSW COVID outbreak continues to spread, Southern Highlands businesses are feeling the pinch.
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Despite conditions being relatively normal in 2021, recent restrictions imposed on Greater Sydney have severely limited tourist numbers over the past two weeks.
Although Highlands restaurants and cafes can still remain open, an industry that relies so heavily on foot traffic from Sydney and surrounds is struggling.
"The worst trading day we've ever had"
Robertson Pie Shop is an institution and a popular stopping point for many tourists.
But with trading the worst it's been in four decades, co-owner Will Bleeker faces a difficult decision as authorities struggle to contain the latest outbreak.
"We closed at 12 on Saturday, we had 15 customers," he told the Southern Highland News.
"It's not worth being there and we didn't even open Sunday which is unheard of for us.
"We are all passing trade pretty much. We normally have about 500-550 customers on a Saturday and 800 on a Sunday.
"That would be the worst trading day we've ever had and we've been here 41 years."
Despite being under restrictions for longer last year, Mr Bleeker said the slow response by government officials has exasperated the problems faced by small businesses.
"It's worse than the last time because all the areas around us are locked down and in my opinion there's too much indecision," he said.
"Instead of just saying we're going to have a month or six weeks lockdown it goes from one week to the next. It makes it difficult for us to plan things and order stock with use-by dates.
"Their decision making is a bit behind and we can't make our decisions based on theirs."
"We're doing Monday to Friday this week and I think we'll be closed next week until we see what's going on.
"It's just not worth having staff there and everything running with no customers."
"I lie awake at night and cry about the staff"
For Donna Jennings, Covid-19 has just been a part of life since opening Bare, Bites and Bowls in Bowral.
Situated next to Bare Body Beauty, both areas of her business have had to contend with some level of restrictions after opening in 2020.
But with tourist numbers dropping off a cliff, she has been forced to stand down staff and make day-to-day decisions about whether to open at all.
"I lie awake at night and cry about the staff and what has to happen," Ms Jennings said.
"I strategically let those who live with their parents have time off.
"We had so much trouble getting staff so we had to keep on shutting and re-opening and then I finally bit the bullet, spent money on staff and here we go.
"I've had to let them go again because we're just not making wages. I had to close on Monday and Tuesday because we didn't make wages on the weekend."
Ms Jennings, who owns businesses throughout NSW, said she was almost exclusively reliant on day-trippers or holidaymakers from Sydney.
"All of my businesses rely on Sydney traffic," she explained.
"A lot of locals don't come out on weekends at all and not during the middle of a pandemic so it's quite dismal."
Despite hopes for a support package similar to Jobkeeper, Ms Jennings isn't optimistic for businesses in the Highlands.
"We're looked at as the lucky ones because we can still be open, they're not thinking about the fact we rely on people from Sydney.
"We're going to give it a go tomorrow [Wednesday] and see how it goes with takeaway only. All I want to do is get the wages to help the guys."
How can you help?
Robertson Pie Shop will be open until Friday this week. You can order home delivery until then as well.
Bare, Bites and Bowls will be open for takeaway only while Bare Body Beauty has an online store you can visit.
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