Exclusive: A regional pub owner is pleading with Australians to head to their local venues after being forced to raise menu prices amid dwindling profits.

Former nurses Jayde Moore and her partner Cath Bates purchased the Royal Hotel Harrisville in Queensland's Scenic Rim, around 67 kilometres from Brisbane, four years ago in a bid to breathe new life into the historic pub.

But the expected post-COVID travel boom hasn't been enough to get customers through the doors, with tables and barstools sitting empty almost every day.

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Moore told nine.com.au that weekly trade has plunged by between 20 and 30 per cent in the last 18 months and the couple fear they may not stay afloat for much longer.

"Our last menu that we put out at the end of October, we did raise prices," Moore said.

"And if I thought it wouldn't negatively affect us, I would put another new menu out and raise prices now, but I think that would do more harm than good."

Harrisville has a population of around 700 people and the Royal Hotel is one of just two pubs in town.

Country pubs are the lifeblood of small regional towns like Harrisville.

"They're the ones that hold all the history in the community and hold the spirit of the community," Moore said.

"This pub has been standing for 150 years. So you can imagine if the walls could talk, what they would say."

The couple has worked hard to keep the doors open but spending habits have changed dramatically.

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