Yesterday’s announcement from Boris Johnson summed up 2020 rather well. Done via Zoom and with little regard for hospitality – we once again bear the brunt of this new, more draconian tiering system in England. Yet of course, in true Government style, we have to wait until Thursday before we find out which tier we’ll all go into and what that means for our restaurants and pubs. We sit here patiently – anticipating just how big a kick in the nuts it’s going to be.
The hammer blow is Tier 3 – lockdown in all but name. I don’t think we need to discuss what this will do to hospitality. Tier 2 – we can but try. Yet we know that even under these restrictions – especially at this time of the year – takings will never be at the level they should be for December. Booze cannot be consumed without food and we’re still not allowed to socialise outside our bubble. It doesn’t really work for hospitality does it?
I’m still not entirely sure why we have a curfew. An extra hour may help stop the surge of people onto the streets and public transport at 10pm but it does very little for restaurants when it comes to revenue. I guess we’ll take it where we can. The complete disregard for our industry as one of the safest places with COVID-secure measures is what is truly astonishing. Instead of letting people socialise responsibly in safe environments, our government is driving people underground. We await Thursday’s announcement.
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