Tates Hotel in Windsor has officially reopened following it's closure due to the COVID-19 shutdown in early April.
Though most of Hawkesbury's pubs reopened on June 1 when they were allowed with the easing of the NSW Government's restrictions, Tates has remained shut for an extra month to complete renovations.
The pub was informed early in the shutdown to aim for a return in mid-July, but due to an accelerated opening date by the NSW Government, they weren't entirely ready to open and wanted to ensure the pub was safe for patrons.
"The renovations weren't totally complete," said owner Lauren Raffen, who took over the pub in 2019 (named the Hawkesbury Hotel at the time) with her husband Steve.
"We painted, carpeted, put in a new bar and made Tates a cleaner and safer venue."
Tate's bistro, beer garden, gaming room and whole exterior were some of the other areas renovated giving the pub a new and fresher feel.
The pubs opening coincides with restrictions on cafes, restaurants, pubs and other venues easing again today.
There is no longer a 50 person capacity but instead they'll follow the one person per four square meters rule.
Lauren has ensured that her pub follows the COVID-19 restrictions with plenty of signage and hand sanitiser available.
"We have all the social distancing stickers on the carpet, a cleaning log for the staff, a sign in station, hand sanitiser stations, there are correct guides to washing hands in the bathrooms and signs with information about COVID throughout the pub," she said.
"Each area has a poster with how many people can be there. We would prefer booking so we can organise for where people can sit."
Like many publicans Lauren is excited to be back and thinks the pub will see a good number of patrons.
"I'm very glad we're open. The renovations took longer then expected and we didn't get as much as we wanted done," she said. "But we'll get that finished soon."
"We're happy to be back and open, and for everyone to come in.
"When we closed we didn't know what to expect. We just kept the bottle shop open and dealt with it."
Tates Hotel is at the corner of George Street and Tebbut Street in Windsor, and is now open.