Hospitality united
From left: Craig Basford, Sharon Romeo and Erica Pennington.
The South Australian hospitality industry has gone through some tough times in the past four years. First, a worldwide pandemic shut down restaurants and now they’re dealing with the impact of cost-of-living pressures. But hospitality workers are a resilient bunch who are passionate about what they do, and there is light at the end of a very long tunnel.
Words: Jeremy Rochow
“I absolutely love looking after people and making a difference for a small time in their world,” says hospitality veteran Sharon Romeo. Sharon, who is the co-owner and director of Fino Vino and Fino Seppeltsfield, is just one of thousands of South Australian hospitality workers who are passionate about serving people exceptional food and wine.
Fino Vino in the city, and Fino Seppeltsfield in the Barossa, provide guests with a warm and welcoming environment, and a menu that champions South Australian produce.
“We are privileged to have some of the most amazing produce and beverage producers in this state,” Sharon says. “We are all about integrity and quality and the produce in South Australia is of such a high quality.”
While Sharon loves the industry, she’s realistic about the challenges it’s faced in the past few years.
“I think the last couple of years, especially with what’s been happening globally with the pandemic and the current cost of living, have made things challenging,” she says.
“But resilience is the key and you have to stay positive.
“I think as an industry, hospitality does have the least amount of margin, but you work odd hours, long shifts, it’s physically demanding, and you have to think quickly in high-pressure situations. I think all those factors make us resilient.”
Big Shed Brewing’s struggles have been well documented in the media, but with plenty of community support, they’re pushing through the turbulent times.
Established in 2002 by Jason Harris and Craig Basford, the brewery encountered challenges made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, higher interest rates and cost-of-living pressures.
Co-founder Craig, who is also the brewery’s Director of Consumer Business Marketing, says help from the community has had a positive impact on the business and its employees.
“The brewing industry rallied around us when we went into voluntary administration [last February],” Craig says.
“We had guys that you might call competitors buying our kegs off us to help out. Is that going to make or break our business? Probably not, but it’s helping in some way and signalling intent that they don’t want the other guy to go down.”
Instead of going it alone, the hospitality industry has come together to deal with some of the challenges restaurants, cafes, hotels and breweries are facing.
Erica Pennington is the Marketing and Development Manager for Palmer Group, which owns the likes of 2KW, and Paloma Bar and Pantry on Peel Street in the city.
She says tougher times have prompted the industry to work together to attract customers rather than compete for business. “There’s more collaboration between businesses,” Erica says. “I know on Peel Street we have a lot more conversations with the other operators to come up with different activations or street opportunities.”
“People are more willing to work together to find the greater good than work against each other as part of what we would normally see as competition.”
Images from left: Fino Vino, Big Shed Brewing, 2kW.
DISHING UP DEALS
In February, RAA launched its member dining program, giving RAA members access to special deals and South Australian eateries a platform to promote their businesses.
There are currently 72 restaurants signed up to the program and members have saved more than $120,000 since it started. They’re not the only ones benefiting though. Restaurants partners have made more than $500,000 in revenue since the initiative began.
Sharon says Fino Vino and Fino Seppeltsfield wanted to partner with a South Australian brand like RAA to expand the restaurants’ reach.
“We were going through a pretty tough time, so I jumped on board to reach some of [RAA’s] 820,000 members,” she says.
“They’re a diverse range of people with different needs, so we’re appealing to a range of audiences.”
The Palmer Group, with restaurants such as the Warradale Hotel and The Highway Hotel, came on board in June.
The group’s restaurants started seeing positive results within the first few weeks, with an increase in new visitors dining at their establishments.
“It’s really nice to see first-time visitors, because what we don’t want to do is cheapen our brand by offering a discount or only attract our regulars,” she says.
“We offer quality products and experiences, so we wanted to make sure we were partnering with an organisation that is respected like RAA.”
It’s a similar story for Big Shed Brewing, with Craig explaining the program has helped to expand the brewery’s customer base.
“We live in a little bubble of hospitality and brewing, and sometimes you think everyone knows who you are, but there are a lot of people who don’t,” he says.
“RAA has a lot of reach both locally, and interstate. To be able to tap into that in some way and get the word out there that we’re here and available for a beer and something to eat was important to us.”
WANT TO TRY THESE RESTAURANTS?
1. FINO VINO You’ll find this 70-seat wine bar and restaurant on Flinders Street in the city.
2. FINO SEPPELTSFIELD Showcasing local and South Australian produce, find this restaurant at Seppeltsfield in the Barossa Valley.
3. BIG SHED BREWING Enjoy craft ales and cider, and low and slow barbecue at Big Shed Brewing on Old Port Road at Royal Park.
4. PALMER GROUP Discover a variety of restaurants and hotels across SA, including:
~ The Highway Hotel ~
~ 2KW Bar and Restaurant ~
~ McLaren Vale Hotel ~
~ Warradale Hotel ~
~ Morphett Arms Hotel ~
~ AGSA_eat ~
~ Paloma Bar & Pantry ~
IMAGES: RAA/Wil Stevens; SATC/Big Shed Brewing, Fino Vino, Jonathan Van de Knapp.
Get special treatment
RAA members get special deals at more than 70 South Australian restaurants as part of the RAA dining program. For more information, visit raa.com.au/dining
