Cr Jason Hamling has suggested Orange City Council talk to the Orange Business Chamber to develop a roster system for cafes to open.

It was also suggested a list of open shops be placed on the council website and at the Orange Visitor Centre.

However, one leading coffee shop owner in Orange, Jeremy Norris, said Sunday costs and less demand made it hard to stay open.

"Most people don't drink that much coffee after 3pm," he said.

Cr Hamling said tourists had told him it was difficult to find a coffee shop open on Sunday afternoons.

"People are saying, 'don't the businesses like money in Orange. That was [said] straight to me," he said.

"The feedback I've been getting is that on Sunday afternoons in the CBD people can't get a coffee, everything is shut."

He said he did not want council to try to force shops to stay open but said it would be good to have something open for visitors.

"A lot of people are doing long weekends in Orange. They are staying Sunday night and going home Monday," he said.

Cr Hamling said the hospitality shops and businesses were also struggling to find good staff in Orange which might also limit their opening hours.

He suggested council could look at setting up a staff training centre locally.

Mr Norris said his businesses the Byng Street Local Store, Larder and Home at Lucknow and the Orange Hospital Coffee Cart were all open on Sundays, mainly for morning and lunch demand.

"We have always been open seven days a week and it's one of our busiest days. The loading for weekends (Saturday and Sunday are the same under the restaurant industry award) is 1.2 x base hourly," he said.

"I personally feel that it's the cost of doing business and if you are in hospitality you should be open on weekends."

He said he was not aware of major demand for coffee shops on Sunday afternoons.

"I haven't heard much. I know there needs to be more food offerings on Sunday nights as there are still lots of people in town looking for dinner but for the most our demand relies heavily on breakfast and lunch.

"We can see that peak sales are consistently between 9am and 11am and then it winds down by 3pm.

"When lunch is done most people are either driving back to Sydney or sipping wine at a cellar door."

He said he did not believe a roster system would work and was concerned that few tourists would go to a council website to find shop opening hours.

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