Melbourne reopens LIVE updates Retailers cinemas gyms throw open doors as restrictions ease

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The cocktail shakers were finally off the shelf at upmarket CBD bar Nick and Nora’s tonight, where the distinctive hum of a dimly lit indoor bar slowly returned.

The largely indoor cocktail and champagne bar had chosen not to open until density limits lifted at 6pm but was running at its allowed capacity of about 100 guests within an hour of opening.

Bar staff at Nick and Nora’s in the CBD were finally able to take cocktail shakers off the shelves on Friday. Credit:Luis Ascui

Bar staff needed no warm-up: one poured five amber coloured cocktails to precisely equal height at breakneck speed, another fired up a blowtorch over a marshmallow for garnish.

Hospitality workers Joel Bainbridge and Phoebe Askham were among the first visitors together with friends Sascha Mocerino.

Champagne was their first beverage of choice on a night Ms Askham said was edging towards pre-pandemic nights out.

Joel Bainbridge, Phoebe Askham (centre), and Sascha Mocerino enjoying a cocktail at Nick and Nora’s.Credit:Luis Ascui

“This time after lockdown it does feel like everyone is a bit warier,” she said.

“I enjoy nights where you don’t need to have bookings and know your exact group size. Hopefully we’re getting there now.”

Mr Bainbridge was gearing up for a shift starting at midnight at fellow CBD bar Spleen, which he said would particularly benefit from looser restrictions as a late-night, smaller size bar.

“We’re excited to get to this next stage. Every little bit helps,” he said.

It was champagne day for cinemas across Melbourne as they were finally able to turn the popcorn machines on.

Unlike non-essential retail stores, which were allowed to open for click and collect and outdoor shopping, cinemas had been out of action for months, as Melburnians turned to streaming platforms like Netflix and Stan to get their movie fix during lockdown.

Ekrem Karakos and Alev Babayigit enjoy a movie in cinemas at Chadstone after restrictions ease.Credit:Chris Hopkins

With Halloween around the corner, horror fans Ekrem Karakos and Alev Babayigit bought tickets to their first movie since July, Halloween Kills, a Halloween sequel where famed killer Michael Myers escapes to continue the bloodshed.

“We are going to the movies because we can,” Mr Karakos said.

“We are sick of lockdowns,” Ms Babayigit added.

Mr Karakos said the best thing about restrictions lifting was finally being able to make spontaneous plans. For Ms Babayigit, it was being able to put an end to working from home.

“This is a different environment, plus I’ve watched pretty much everything on Netflix, all the good films,” Mr Karakos said.

The screening room at Hoyts Chadstone was half full with couples and groups of friends socially distancing to enjoy the movie.

In the popular tourism town of San Remo, just before Phillip Island, the power is still out and businesses preparing for a frantic weekend are closed.

Nathan Murphy, co-ower of the Spicy Duck Thai restaurant, said the loss of power at such a crucial time was devastating. “We were booked out,” he said. “Tonight would have been a big night.”

Mr Murphy said there was no indication of when the power was going to come back on. “If we lose all day tomorrow it’s a big loss.”

Despite the outages, cars continued flowing over the bridge to Phillip Island after 7pm, where some businesses were reportedly able to serve customers by using power generators.

Mr Murphy said the pandemic had dealt local traders a savage blow but he was grateful for the community’s support.

“The local population has been great,” he said.

Back at CreateFit gym in Southbank, and there’s no time for complaints as the group of 30 cross-fitters launches straight into power snatches with barbells followed by intensive bike sessions.

A DJ plays electronic music from the corner of the room while those completing the workout spot each other in groups of four.

Electronic music kept fitness junkies pumped up at CreateFit gym at Southbank on Friday night.Credit:Michael Fowler

Maddie Huggins and Kylie Massi are the two of the elite operators who arrived as restrictions eased at 6pm.

Ms Huggins is training to compete in the cross-fit world championship in the United States in February - a competition Ms Massi, now a coach, has participated in several times.

Ms Huggins said while she had some equipment at home to maintain her fitness levels, maintaining motivation while working out in her apartment building’s underground carpark had proven difficult.

Thirty-odd cross-fitters turned out to the gym from 6pm. Credit:Luis Ascui

“It is hard without the competitiveness and also the camaraderie of being with people training,” she said.

“You’re with limited equipment because you don’t have rigs at home, you don’t have rings, you don’t have half the equipment that you’d normally use in cross-fit during the session.”

Cross-fit combines elements of gymnastics, weight lifting and cardio exercises, demanding high levels of all-round fitness for elite competitors.

Everyone attending tonight is working towards a more immediate goal, too - they will settle in for a barbecue and a few drinks at the end of their first session together in three months.

Most Victorians rushed to shopping centres across the state to purchase early Christmas presents and browse around, but for some, the reopening of retail was an opportunity to return their failed lockdown purchases.

Sara Yez lined up outside of the Louis Vuitton store at Chadstone shopping centre just after 6pm, hoping to exchange her change-of-mind purchases before the crowds flooded in.

In her list of unwanted items were headphones and bracelets.

“If it gets too busy I think we’ll leave,” she said.

Asked if she was excited about retail making a coming back, Ms Yez said she felt uneasy about the lifting of restrictions. High COVID case counts and hospital deaths were among her reasons for concern.

“I got used to being in lockdown,” she said.

Power outages are creating dangerous road conditions on the way to the Bass Coast with traffic lights out at a busy intersection at Grantville on the Bass Highway.

Shops and a service station at the small village are also shuttered and without power.

Grantville usually receives a lot of traffic on the way to Phillip Island and Inverloch, but was virtually deserted tonight.

In the 24 hours to 4.30pm and with a day of weather chaos, Victoria’s State Emergency Service had received 4088 requests for assistance. The busiest units to that point were Frankston, Ballarat, Whitehorse and Northcote.

Almost 3085 last reports were for trees down, and 766 were for building damage.

The Australian Energy Market Operator said that, as of about 5.30pm, there were approximately 240,000 properties without power across the state, mostly in Victoria’s east.

That was down from about 520,000 this morning.

It’s Friday Night Lights at CreateFit gym in Southbank, where about 25 keen cross-fitters are about to get stuck into a workout circuit for the first time in three months.

Husband and wife Heather and Simon Savage co-own the gym and it’s been a turbulent six months since they opened it in April.

Committed gym-goers were straight back into it at CreateFit in Southbank on Friday night.Credit:Luis Ascui

But the group in attendance on Friday night are committed - just consider the fact that while many Melburnians are enjoying their new freedoms at Friday night drinks, they’ve chosen to spend 6pm at their gym.

Friday Night Lights refers to the circuit the cross-fitters will work through tonight, with various gymnastics, weight lifting and cardio exercises.

Gym-goer Cameron Joseph said coming for the first session as gyms reopened was never in doubt for him.

The CreateFit gym only opened in April.Credit:Luis Ascui

“Especially given we’ve not been in here for 12 weeks now,” he said.

“It’s so good with the community, like this is the equivalent of us going and having dinner with our friends. It’s as if restaurants have opened for us. We want to get together we want to work out and have a good time.”

Fellow gym member Jenna Lenich agreed she has missed the social aspect more than anything.

“Exercise is great but if you don’t have the community you won’t keep coming back,” she said.

Traffic coming into Lorne on the Surf Coast was still light at 6pm, although it was expected to get busier later in the evening.

Caravan parks and camping grounds were starting to slowly fill up for the unofficial long weekend for the Melbourne Cup.

Power was out for most of the day in parts of the coastal town following this morning’s storms, and telephone lines were also down with businesses scrambling to prepare for an expected influx of holidaymakers.

Lorne’s tourism group Love Lorne warned “the majority of Lorne businesses will be short-staffed and working their hardest to support an expected deluge of visitors.”

Heading down to Phillip Island, Emerald resident Haydn Dennis and his partner decided to go for a family holiday at Cape Woolamai in the expectation power would be restored by Saturday morning.

Storms had also caused outages at his home in Melbourne. “We had no power so it was another reason to go,” he said.

Mr Dennis, a paramedic, said the chance to get away was much needed after a busy year at work. “This is what we’ve been most looking forward to,” he said.

The car park at the service station at Caldermeade was busy with cars towing caravans and families grabbing a bite to eat before heading back out onto the road.

At Chadstone, keen shoppers counted down “three, two, one ...” to restrictions easing, and there were cheers, slaps, and hugs as retailers threw open their doors.

Excited customers looking for birthday gifts, clothes, and a browse flooded the stores under the watch of COVID-19 marshals, who made sure people shopping adhered to the rules.

Most were tired of doing their shopping online and longed for an opportunity to get a sense of normalcy back.
The longest lines formed outside favourites Kmart, Target, H&M and Culture Kings before retailers opened up.

The excitement was as palpable at Kmart as the clock neared 6pm.

Shoppers flooded Chadstone stores after retailers threw open their doors at 6pm on Friday. Credit:Chris Hopkins

Jittery staff waited on either side of the main aisle snapping selfies and pumping each other up.

“One minute to go,” a manager announced as security managed the line outside, which curled around the corner.

Hundreds were delighted to get back to the bricks-and-mortar shopping experience. Credit:Chris Hopkins

Among dozens of customers waiting to get it was Chadstone local Nicole Clowes who planned to do some birthday shopping.

“I want to get out before it gets too crazy,” she said.

Ms Clowes said it had been too many months of buying clothes online.

“It’s time to get into the store and pick it up from the shelves.“

Ms Clowes said she missed talking to other people outside of her household the most during lockdown.

It’s 6pm, and COVID-19 restrictions across Melbourne have officially eased once again.

Let’s do a quick recap on what the easing means:

Travel is now allowed between metropolitan Melbourne and the regions;

Masks are no longer required outdoors, but they are still mandatory inside;

Retail shops are open with a density limit of one person for every four square metres;

Most other indoor venues including gyms, theatres and cinemas are open with a density limit of one person for every four square metres;

Outdoor venues like stadiums and zoos can now host up to 5000 people;

Weddings, funerals and religious services can return for fully vaccinated people with at one person per four square metres indoors and 500 people outdoors;

Melburnians are now allowed up to 10 visitors to their homes per day, and up to 30 people can gather outdoors.

Now, we want to hear from you. How are you celebrating the eased restrictions? What are you up to tonight - are you heading to a movie, to the shops, or catching up with family and friends?

Let us know using the form below.

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