With Melbourne residents returning to town, and slight increases on capacity caps for many venues, local businesses saw strong numbers on the weekend in particular.
The Royal owner Barry Saunders said it had been a strong weekend of business.
“We were able to cap the bistro at 20 instead of 10 due to the size of the room, and that made a huge difference,” he said.
“There were a lot more people around town, so we were flat out all weekend. I think we probably had to turn away 200 people across the weekend in response because we simply weren't able to fit people in.
“But that's a great outcome. The town needs that increase in people, and we are already seeing really good signs, so it was great on a business front. Hopefully we can see that continue.”
It is hopefully just the beginning, with NSW border restrictions to end on Monday.
Guys and Girls owner Georgie Pearse said she hoped to see a further increase in business with the re-opening of the border.
“That remains one of the biggest issues for local business,” she said.
“We usually get a fairly good gauge of where our customers are coming from, and while there was an increase with metro Melbourne being allowed, it's just the start.
“What we are hoping is to see an even bigger increase in the next few weeks as the border opens up and we head into what is always a really busy time of the year.”
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