A CENTRAL Victorian eatery has been unable to pay its staff as it faces its sixth week largely closed, due first to the COVID-19 lockdown then to storm damage.
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Mount Macedon's Top of the Range Tearooms has been inaccessible to visitors since the storms of June 9, which forced road closures to the summit.
The surrounding Macedon Ranges Regional Park is also closed, with a reopening date yet to be announced.
It's hit the tearooms hard, coming directly after Victoria's snap COVID-19 circuit breaker lockdown in late May and early June.
Parks Victoria has said the date of the park's reopening was still unknown, due to the sheer scale of the storms.
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Top of the Range Tearooms owner Luke Chapman said the closures had been detrimental for the mountaintop eatery. He said snow tourism had a flow on effect to other Macedon businesses.
Mr Chapman said there was merit in the road closures, but he was unhappy there seemed to be no action to reopen the road.
He said before the storms the tearoom was already reeling from a lack of customers during the lockdown, as most of their visitors came from Melbourne.
He said the business was currently unable to pay staff, many of whom had not had work since June 10.
Mr Chapman said it had been hard to come by hospitality workers since the pandemic, but they couldn't expect their staff to sit around and wait for work.
He said the business's peak season was autumn, but a snow day on a weekend in school holidays could attract thousands.
Parks Victoria acting regional director Jodi Heath said many parks across the state remained closed for public safety, due to extensive storm damage.
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Ms Heath said many potentially hazardous trees still lay near around roads, walking tracks and picnic area which could fall and injure visitors.
She said Parks Victoria crews were working hard to assess and remove hazardous trees, and restore access to damaged tracks and facilities.
"The sheer scale of this storm event means we have to be cautious. Our highest priority is public and staff safety," Ms Heath said.
"Until we can reopen the closed parks, please stay out - they are closed because they are not safe for visitors to enter."
Department of Transport Loddon Mallee acting director Sandra Wilson said safety concerns meant the Mount Macedon Road and Cameron Drive remained closed to all but local traffic.
"We understand that ongoing road closures can be frustrating, but with fallen trees on the roadsides and others at risk of falling, we need to ensure the safety of all road users before we can reopen either road," Ms Wilson said.
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