BAY Play Cleveland owner Elena Neale says staff are doing everything in their power to keep the business viable during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The centre was forced to cease trading last month when the government brought in tough new restrictions on social gatherings but like many Redlands businesses they have been working behind the scenes to bounce back after the crisis is over.
While costs are continuing to mount, Ms Neale said the JobKeeper scheme had allowed her to re-employ staff that had been laid off when the restrictions were brought in.
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She said they were now working on plans to improve the business for when guests could return.
"I have taken back on a lot of my staff and our trainee is continuing to work behind the scenes on her Certificate 4 in business," Ms Neale said.
"I have two chefs and both of them are creating a new menu. They will launch that on social media soon.
"My barista is coming up with new drink creations and my front of house supervisor is coming up with a better system for parties so that we can take bookings through one channel."
The centre plans to open a booking system in August that will allow parents to lock in a provisional party date for their child without placing a deposit.
"Even though we are not trading or doing takeaway at the moment, we are about to launch a campaign where we will be taking bookings as of August for parties," Ms Neale said.
"We will take bookings without deposits and what that means is we are hoping to be back up and running by that point.
"When we are, then we will contact people in regards to making a deposit and confirming that booking."
Ms Neale said the business was remaining positive about the future.
"We are still in it and we are not giving up. We want to make a go of this for the community," she said.
"We are not closing our doors any time soon. We are just in hibernation mode. We have had a lot of positive feedback from the community.
"...We are keen to come back better than ever. This pause has just given us a small break in trading to allow us to improve."
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