With the announcement from Premier Daniel Andrews, what changes have you made to Epocha and Elyros?

We are working on an initiative call Eat Forward Melbourne which is about buying a meal for someone in need. Watch this space.
We’re also doing takeaway, like everyone is and there is a consensus that as much as we can do it, it won’t be enough.
I think it would ultimately work better if we came together and pooled our resources and space and centralised a takeaway offering.

Besides the obvious, what is frustrating you most about the situation we’re all in?

That I can’t get to my people. Yes, we can Zoom or Skype but we are an industry all about body language and express ourselves with hands, eye contact and feed off other people’s energy. You can’t do that on a screen like you can in person.
I just wish we could get together and brainstorm the fuck out of this!

How are you and your teams?

It makes me teary but all our teams have said, ‘whatever we have to do to stay open we will do.’ They could leave but they haven’t.
Customers have been messaging, calling and coming in just to say hello, giving us support and smile, that helps a lot.
We are banding together, texting, calling, checking in.

Interview: March 23