General News
17 February, 2026
The right time of year for this news
ENJOYING a relaxing drink in town with some good atmosphere has been made easier in the last few weeks, with two Rainbow businesses receiving the green light for their respective liquor licences.
Hayden’s Café owner, Sharon Hayden, said she was glad the roughly three to four-month process was over, and they could get on with serving customers.
“I’m very happy with the consulting group I went through,” she said.
“The licence came through about the eighth or ninth of January.”
With plenty of positive reactions on Facebook, the café appeared set for good turnouts to get some of their regular menu items or Bain Marie Specials with something refreshing to complement.
Eureka Hotel manager, Amanda Perris, said she was relieved they could reopen after a few months, which they did on February 3.
“We were closed down on the 21st of October last year, and we were granted the licence on 15th of January this year, pending the right to occupy, which we have now got all of that sorted,” she said last week.
She said the obstacle of not having a chef was one they hoped to solve, so they could serve meals five nights a week.
In the meantime, she hoped people would also consider the atmosphere to “come back”.
“We've got live entertainment on Saturday,” Amanda said.
She was grateful for the town's support and, on the first afternoon of reopening, pleased with the response.
“I'm not going to say (the bar is) full at the moment, but it's getting there,” she said.
Asked what people could expect when they walked through the doors, the answer was simple.
“Cold beers!”
