Isaac Whatman was among many happy people in Wollongong on Tuesday afternoon when The Bavarian reopened on the corner of Crown and Keira Streets.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Whatman is an assistant manager at the venue and said he was just as eager as many customers and really enjoyed being able to throw the doors open at 4pm.
From that time a steady stream of customers started arriving leading into the busy dinner period.
The first to enter was a loyal Bavarian fan who visited the eatery every week in Wollongong before it closed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Sutthipong Anoma works as a chef in Wollongong's northern suburbs and said he missed The Bavarian so much he travelled to Sydney for his fix while it was closed.
Mr Anoma would check the company's website to see which venues were open.
"I really enjoy the beer," he said.
"I used to come here to Wollongong every week on my day off."
Mr Anoma was greeted with a big smile by Mr Whatman who worked at the Wollongong eatery before it closed and then Shellharbour when it reopened.
"Now I am back here to get the place back up and running. It is great to be back. I have really been looking forward to today," he said.
"We are expecting a decent turnout. People have been missing us and we have been missing our regulars."
Mr Whatman said The Bavarian appealed to a broad range of people and Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights are always the busiest.
The Bavarian's national food and beverage director John Sullivan visited Wollongong for the reopening and said there were still five venues left in the roll back including a few in the Sydney CBD.
"We did a staged process rather than open everything back up at the same time," he said.
"Different states had all different lockdowns so we decided to stagger the re-openings and used our staff members around different sites."
The Bavarian tested each market which is why Shellharbour reopened before Wollongong to see how it would go.
Mr Sullivan said bookings have been strong since the reopening date was announced.
"There has been a lot of interest during the last couple of months about when we are going to reopen," he said.
The Bavarian is presently operating six days a week in many venues and Wollongong may be among the first to open seven.
"We are still employing here," Mr Sullivan said.
"We are operating six days at the moment. Hopefully in the next couple of months we will be operating seven days."
We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.
Sign up for breaking news emails below ...
Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
