His business is booming but Manuka restaurateur Manuel Notaras fears that Canberra won't cope over the next four weeks with the popularity of the Masterpieces from Paris exhibition.
From 8am to 10.30pm his 140-seat Caph's Cafe in Franklin Street is bursting with gallery patrons.
''The scary thing about it is I reckon it's going to get even crazier at Easter and the last two weeks when people realise they have only two weeks to see this exhibition,'' he said.
Restaurants, hotels and taxis are being urged to rise to Canberra's big tourism opportunity as visitors flood in for the blockbuster at the National Gallery of Australia.
The show has been extended for two weeks to April 18 and has attracted more than 320,000 visitors, far and away more than the expected 250,000.
NGA surveys show visitors have left Canberra dazzled by the rare art works but disappointed with the unavailability of taxis and buses, closed restaurants and booked-out hotels charging premiums.
Canberra Business Council chief executive Chris Faulks said the hospitality sector needed to be smarter than in January when only a handful of cafes and restaurants opened for masses of tourists.
For more on this story, see the print edition of today's Canberra Times.
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