Wills Domain have taken a positive approach during the COVID-19 pandemic, redeploying their kitchen staff to the vineyard to help keep them employed in these tough times.
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Owner Darren Haunold said as a business they felt a responsibility to do everything they could to help keep their staff connected to the business.
After the winery was forced to close the restaurant, they identified a number of opportunities for some staff to learn how other sections of the business operated.
"A change is as good as a holiday, the staff have been enjoying working out in the vineyard and being in that environment, not the little box that is the kitchen," he said.
"We are also supporting a number of staff who were not eligible for JobKeeper, we felt a stronger responsibility to make sure where the government was not helping them, we as a business were doing everything we could to assist them.
"Our temporary skilled visa workers have basically been hung out to dry and told they could access their super and that's it, despite them contributing in tax and to the local community for a number of years.
"As a business there were a number of things we had to adjust to in this new normal, and one of those was re-purposing our kitchen staff just not letting them go, which many restaurants have done.
"We felt not knowing how long this would go on for or how it would roll out, we really took it upon ourselves to make sure we kept in touch with our staff and as a business did the right thing by them as best as we possibly could given the pressure we are currently experiencing.
"We have always had really good staff - it is a two way street - we ask them to work hard in our kitchen and give their all.
"It would be remiss of me to not somehow value that and hopefully turn that into something positive for them during this pretty tough time.
"I think they have been enjoying it, it is a very tranquil spot to exist in a workplace, there is hardly any pressure in the world when you are standing in a vineyard listening to the birds and a bit of music in the background."
Mr Haunold said the hospitality industry would need to reinvent itself post pandemic to adapt to existing pressures while there was no vaccine or international tourism.
"We are going to be patient and are thinking what WD 2.0 will look like," he said.
"We believe people will want to have the same kinds of experiences they've had with us in the past, those special occasions, celebrations and the desire to just spoil themselves.
"People will probably be looking to us for pretty much the same - the old normal - for us to be a release from all the pressure that exists today."
Mr Haunold said he hoped people would treasure those special moments and appreciate the people who worked in hospitality giving them respite from the grind to just enjoy themselves.
"There is an attitudinal change that would really benefit if people realised how precious those moments were and how we did take them for granted," he said.
"When we go out to fine dining with all the bells and whistles we question what that is worth and we would question it more if it no longer existed.
"There is a strong possibility it could happen in hospitality were people would not be willing to engage in risk associated in being part of this industry.
"I welcome people to really change their attitudes in welcoming those opportunities to go out and celebrate something, make it meaningful and make those memories precious."
During the pandemic, Wills Domain have been making sanitiser for community health groups that have not been able to access any.
"We are trying to give back to the community, participate where we can and help the most vulnerable while we get through this dodgy patch," he said.
"We have been providing financial support back to some of the volunteers who help our elderly and most vulnerable in the community too."
