‘Revenue is not going to come back’: Lockdown to cost restaurant and cafe sector $1 billion

Melbourne’s return to stage three lockdown for the next six weeks will force many businesses to close their doors once again, only days after reopening them from the last lockdown.

Restaurants and cafes will be forced back to takeaway only in a move which Restaurants and Catering CEO Wes Lambert concedes will be “financially devastating,”

“This is the sawtooth recovery situation that the federal government and state premiers said could not happen,

“It has happened.”

With the restaurant and cafe sector already on its knees, Mr Lambert estimates the return to lockdown will cost the industry more than $1 billion.

“That revenue is not going to come back, it’s not going to be spent in the next six weeks after that,

“It’s gone. It’s gone forever.”

Click play to hear the full interview between Wes Lambert and Brooke Corte: