That's because indoor dining may not return until late November.
The roadmap forward revealed by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews lists indoor dining among the last step rules before moving towards "COVID normal".
In the last step, hospitality restrictions would cap patrons at 50 indoors (with a group limit of 20 and seated service), while outdoor dining would be subject to a venue's size.
And while the return of outdoor dining is a boost for some, other businesses including Echuca Workers have seen its nightmare year take another horror turn.
“It's another punch in the guts,” general manager Erin Langman said.
“Our venue is primarily indoors; we only have a small alfresco in the bistro area so it wouldn't be worth it for us to open our doors.
“Unfortunately, our doors are going to be shut for a little while longer. And it means people don't have venues like ours where they can go and celebrate.
“We like to pride ourselves on an environment where people can come together and we're unable to do that at the moment.”
Janine Pain and her team at Nook on High in Echuca are feeling a similar pain.
“Moving to outdoor dining is a useless step,” she said.
“We do have some outdoor capacity, but we can only fit eight people in that area. The rule around four square metres makes things difficult for a lot of businesses like ours.
“I would rather the government moved back to having a maximum capacity of 20 people indoors. It was hard to maintain but it was a lot easier for us to have a turnover.
“I think another important step would be easing border restrictions so we can welcome back our NSW customers.
“We need things to move back towards normal as soon as possible.”
With regional case numbers continuing to drop, Mr Andrews hinted indoor dining could return sooner in regional areas compared to metropolitan areas.
“We will look at the limits and we will look at all the different restrictions we put in place based on the virus numbers,” he said.
“We will get as many people inside and as many people at the venue – whether that be inside or outside – as we possibly can and as fast as we can.
“Regional Victoria is in a different place in metro Melbourne and I think you’ll see more people inside in regional Victoria quicker.”
But not seeing patrons come through the doors is only the beginning of the problem for many businesses, including Echuca Workers.
“Standing people down and not being able to give them any work is the hardest part,” Erin said.
“You miss having face-to-face interaction with your staff because we are such a close group.
“And that flows onto our regulars who are always up for a chat.
“This year has really been difficult for everybody.”
While many businesses are continuing with their takeaway options, High Street South Corner Store, Echuca owner Colleen Forster said customer spending was down compared to the first set of restrictions earlier in the year.
“A lot of people are still uncertain about their jobs, so they don't want to be spending, especially with Christmas getting closer,” she said.
“We can't wait until we're able to have people back at the shop when they can sit down and enjoy their meals. Our staff love interacting with our customers.
“We're still continuing to do deliveries to older people in the community because it's safer for them to stay at home.
“But business is just not like it was and that's why I'm hoping restrictions are eased sooner rather than later.”
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