Fancy a #lockycocky? Walking cocktails now available on the Foreshore

If you’re missing your Friday night footy and schooner, or Saturday evening wine with the girls, one Kingston bar has got you covered.

Magoo’s on the Foreshore has adapted to suit lockdown by serving cocktails to passers-by on their afternoon walks.

Co-owners Sally & Rod Melmoth says they’ve been received very well by the local community.

“As a small business in lockdown, every little bit helps, and we wanted to do something for our locals and regulars to look forward to in lockdown,” Rod said.

“People love it as a nice break from the rest of the day working from home where we are all going a bit stir-crazy.”

Sally says it’s also been good for people to have a little break from the doom and gloom of the current news cycle and ‘coronavirus this and coronavirus that’.

They now have the full cocktail list available for takeaway, and they literally move the entire bar out to the front of the beer garden so people can watch the drinks being made – as if life was ‘normal’ again.

It’s about more than just getting a drink, Rod says, it’s the stress-release of asking someone how their week has been.

“A bit of social interaction is great, not just for our customers but for us as well.”

Now, he’s encouraging people to get out for their exercise and grab a drink while they do it.

As the weather warms up and exercise hours have been expanded to two a day, with groups of five people able to gather, the service will only get more popular.

The walking cocktails are available from 2:00 to 5:00 pm on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm on weekends, although Rod says it’s weather-dependent, so it pays to check their socials before coming out.

“We did stand in the rain a couple of times, but we probably won’t do that again,” he said.

Rod’s also reminding people that the ACT is still in lockdown, and getting a cocktail isn’t exactly on the list of essential reasons to leave home.

“Instead, it’s a nice thing to pick up on your afternoon walk,” he explained.

He also asks for patience and a bit of understanding from the community as Magoo’s tries to adapt to the incredibly different set of circumstances a lockdown dictates.

“Wear your masks and distance,” he said.

After all, if too many people gather around, they will be forced to shut it down – and then nobody gets a #lockycocky.

“We also might bring in a couple of other measures to ensure people are distancing if we need to. But right now, most customers are just loving the fact that we are out here and doing something different,” Rod explained.

To prevent people from having to wait for too long, you can also give the bar a ring to place your order beforehand on 6193 7935 (during opening hours).

ACT Liquor licensing laws state that patrons must be at least 50 metres from the venue before consuming alcohol.

As it did last year, the ACT Government introduced temporary changes to liquor licensing to allow “on liquor” licensees to sell takeaway alcohol and offer it for home delivery until Thursday, 30 September.

See Magoo’s Facebook page for the latest updates and find out when the walking cocktails will be on offer.

Original Article published by Lottie Twyford on The RiotACT.