Almost two weeks in, the NSW government's Dine & Discover vouchers are starting to be popular at local eateries.
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Jaffa Bistro's Rob Kerr, Jacque James and Allan Kerr were among the first to register.
As soon as Ms James saw information about it she suggested it might be a good idea and it has worked well with new and existing customers at the Corrimal venue.
Allan Kerr said the first voucher was redeemed on the first day and the number had steadily grown with people using them every day between 10am and 8.30pm.
The Dine vouchers were initially only available Monday to Thursday but as of last Saturday they can be used seven days a week until the end of June.
Jaffa's is still experiencing some confusion with people not knowing which $25 voucher to use or understanding they can only redeem one at a time. But people in groups can use one each.
Staff are now experts in directing customers how to redeem their vouchers which can be scanned from a phone or a print-out.
They also encourage people to spend at least $25 on a meal so they get full use of each voucher.
"One person ordered two steaks that were $13.50 each. So it only cost them $2 for two sirloin steak specials. Every Wednesday we do that and they were rapt to only have to pay $2," Mr Kerr said.
"They felt guilty and wanted to put money in the tip jar and I said "no you have to thank Gladys for this one". We try and get them to the $25 by suggesting they have garlic bread or something else with their meal."
Rob Kerr said the vouchers had worked well and were helping grow the business post COVID-19.
Jaffa Bistro is being reimbursed by the NSW government within three to four days of each voucher being used.
"We got our first deposit last Thursday and our first transaction was on the Monday," Ms James said.
Allan Kerr said Dine & Discover was a real help for the business which was forced to suddenly close for three months from March 2020.
"At that time we had three bistros. We had to close Robertson, Warilla Sports Club and here at Corrimal RSL," he said.
"Rob and I had to pay out all our distributors so we needed to take advantage of a short-term government loan to pay all those."
JobKeeper also helped the business and dozens of staff when Warilla and Corrimal reopened.
Employee Sandra Mills took over the Robertson outlet where she initially did takeaways at what is now called Three Spuds Bistro.
Rob Kerr said the Corrimal community was very quick to take up use of the vouchers compared to Warilla. But more people in the Shellharbour local government area are now jumping on board.
He felt the NSW government was doing a good job helping businesses post COVID-19.
"The initial couple of weeks during lockdown we were a bit apprehensive not knowing what the future would hold but from then on in we have felt really supported," he said.
Jaffa Bistro is encouraging more businesses to register, particularly for the Discover vouchers because many people don't know where they can use them.
Illawarra Fly Treetops Walk, Jervis Bay Dolphin Eco Tour and Jervis Bay Boom Netting are among them and have revealed entry tickets will be free because of a partnership between travel and leisure booking platform Klook and the NSW government's Dine & Discover.
A full list of all the venues where Dine & Discover vouchers can be used can be found on the Services NSW website by logging into each local government area.
"It isn't difficult to register. It is pretty straight forward," Ms James said.
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