Dynamic duo: Tamworth cafes and pubs reap benefits of long weekend and NRL grand final

People flocked to pubs, restaurants and cafes and let loose with all the caffeine, food and beverages they wanted in the three-day break.

The Tudor Hotel second-in-charge Shauna Riley said after a slow start, the weekend turned into a good one and trading really picked up on Sunday night for the NRL grand final.

"It was pretty quiet on Friday night, but Saturday night picked up very well and we had a good crowd for the bands," she said.

"Sunday was a bit of a hit and miss at dinner and lunch, but everyone wanted to come out and watch the football and have a few drinks on the rooftop."

She said there were some big bookings for lunch on Monday as people tried to make the most of their extra day off.

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That rush was certainly felt by Vivaldi Cafe's new owner Dinesh Goyal, who said his staff had been flat out since Friday, especially for morning tea service.

"It's been very busy, very good and it's such nice business, it's great," he said.

"From about 10 o'clock they all start coming out and we haven't stopped since then.

"It's been on all three days, although Friday was the biggest and then on Saturday there was a little drop, but now it's picked up again."

With so many people out and about at pubs and in many cases enjoying a drink or two - or three - staff were alert to any breaches of COVID restrictions.

But according to Ms Riley, the crowd was well-behaved which made the Sunday night in particular run much smoother for everyone.

"It was good to see a lot of people actually doing the right thing with such large crowds, a lot of people were enjoying the rooftop where you can stand and take your mask off as well," she said.

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