Express & Star comment: Keeping our restaurants alive
From fish and chip shops to gastro pubs, from restaurants serving the best local produce to those that have a Michelin star; our region has punched above its weight for more than a generation.
And yet since March, the hospitality sector has fallen quiet.
Restaurants that would have turned over thousands of pounds during the past two months have earned just a trickle of income. Some have run out of cash, others won’t be able to last until late summer and yet more will have to take on levels of debt that will make life uncomfortable for years to come.
The new normal that emerges later this year and into 2021 will bear little resemblance to what went before.
Like other sectors that have been critically exposed to the impact of Covid-19, it will sustain a disproportionately high number of redundancies and business failures.
Talented, hard-working individuals will leave the industry and those that remain will have to rebuild.
Hope dies last, however, and already we see green shoots. Though restaurants still have no clear route map to re-opening, other than a vague promise of July, a number have started to diversify by providing take-away, hampers, cook-a-longs and more. Hospitality has long been one of the nation’s most creative industries and innovation remains the watchword.
Hospitality is not simply important to the economy. It is also important socially. Pubs and restaurants are where we congregate at weekends and for special occasions. Venues are integral to our social fabric, they enable community cohesion and provide opportunities for improved mental health.
The chefs who have taken to social media to share recipes, to offer one-to-one advice, to provide video tutorials and more are helping to maintain morale. They are also reminding us that they will return just as soon as Covid-19 is done.
Those in a position to support local restaurants can play a part. Many are cash-strapped as they figure out how to pay their utility bills, rent and loan agreements for equipment. And by ordering takeaways, hampers or cook-at-home dinners, we are helping to keep them afloat. Many cannot afford to do so at present, of course, as furlough, redundancy and job insecurity all bite.
Those that can support restaurants are helping an industry to survive. A treat for the week provides chefs and restaurateurs with a financial lifeline, while also providing them with confidence for a brighter tomorrow.
