Fears Wolverhampton's hospitality sector will not survive crisis
A business leader is warning that many small and micro coffee houses and restaurants in the hospitality sector may not survive the coronavirus crisis.
Sham Sharma, chairman of Wolverhampton Business Forum, is urging the Government to provide improved support for his members in the sector.
Mr Sharma, who runs Zuri Coffee in Lichfield Street, said many cafes, bars and restaurants in the city were facing serious problems in staying in business due to the lockdown and problems with the costs of reopening.
"Many local businesses could go out of business," he warned.
He said that in his case where he had only 30 customers, to meet two-metre social distancing he would only be able to operate with five or six customers.
"That will not generate enough money for a small business like this," he added.
"What else is the Government going to do for this sector, particularly small and micro businesses? Where we have got loans it has been eaten up by rent and employees' wages."
The forum has contacted Wolverhampton South West MP Stuart Anderson to ask him to raise its concerns with the Government.
Mr Sharma said that businesses were also reporting difficulty in claiming on insurance because insurers were saying that policies did not cover contingencies like Covid-19.
"Small businesses like mine are are on a hiding to nothing when they reopen. Landlords are not willing to drop rents despite the crisis. The problems are mounting up," he added.
Mr Sharma said that he had shut Zuri Coffee at the beginning of March because trade had disappeared in the early staged of the pandemic and he had furloughed his staff.
