The Smash Shack on Edward Street was to be a place where residents, for a fee, could take out their frustrations on some empty bottles or household crockery - without any repercussions and without having to clean up.

Nathaniel Raine came up with the idea around Christmas time and knew it was the perfect experience to bring to the city.

He and his partner Shannon wanted to take a leap and start the business, so they spent more than eight months going through all the development processes and refitting out the space they rented.

Finally, on August 13, they had opening night, and it was a "smash hit".

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But, 24 hours later, the entire state went into lockdown, and they were forced to shut their doors.

"The first night was awesome, and the people that came down had a great time," Mr Raine said.

"We were on a bit of a high, and then we started to hear rumours of a lockdown and then it was the debacle where some MPs had posted on social media but still did not seem to be 100 per cent confirmed.

"We were down there setting up for the night, and then we had to shut the doors and just go home."

Mr Raine said it seemed inevitable that the city would go into a lockdown, but he was shocked it only came with three hours notice.

While he understood while the decision had been made, he said it was still frustrating.

"There was nothing we could do but be smart with the money we did make on the one night we were open and use that to pay the most urgent bills," Mr Raine said.

"We are eligible for the COVID disaster payments, so we were able to get the $750, and while it isn't going to save us completely, it has helped out.

"The rent and the other bills and invoices will be on us."

Mr Raine encouraged Wagga residents to keep following the rules to help bring lockdown to an end sooner rather than later.

He said the reaction and success of the first night showed that Wagga was keen to have the Smash Shack around, and he would hold onto that in preparation for when they can fling the doors open again.

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