Coronavirus: 'People keep asking when they can sit in the restaurant'

Mohammed Parvez said his usual diners have not been visiting his restaurant for takeaways

Some restaurant owners in Edinburgh say they have been coming under pressure from customers who want to have a sit-in meal.

The businesses have been feeling the impact of only being able to open as takeaways during the lockdown.

Bars and restaurants in England are expected to open their doors again from 4 July, while the hospitality sector in Scotland has been told to prepare to reopen on 15 July.

Mohammed Parvez, 55, is the owner of the 42-seat Indian restaurant Rannaghor in Edinburgh, which reopened as a takeaway two weeks after the start of lockdown.

He said people "keep asking me when they can sit in the restaurant.

"Eating out is different from eating in your house with a takeaway, so my regular customers are just not coming as they don't want a takeaway.

"They want fresh food directly to their table rather than waiting the time it takes them to get home. They want the atmosphere and experience of sitting in a restaurant.

"The problem is this is a restaurant not a takeaway. My diners have been coming for up to 20 years and they know it as a restaurant, not a takeaway."

'Distraught and anxious'

He said he feared he would have to close for good if he could not open up as a restaurant soon.

"It's very serious. This lockdown has decimated my business and our customers are asking us to reopen," he added

"They keep calling the restaurant and asking 'are we allowed to sit in yet?'

"They want to come back now. I don't know why we cannot open up at the same time as the restaurants in England. It's making me feel very distraught and anxious."

Sadet Gul has been making traditional Turkish filled flatbreads in the window of her restaurant in a bid to attract customers

Sadet Gul, 46, also adapted her Turkish restaurant, La Telve, into a takeaway.

She said she felt bad about having to turn away customers who wanted to sit in.

"About 90% of our diners are older and they have been coming in and asking to sit down," she said.

"They are dying to have a drink and hot food sitting in the restaurant and I'm very tired now of having to tell them no.

"They don't want to takeaway and sit in their cars eating it, they are telling me they want to sit inside my restaurant. They want metal cutlery, they want the atmosphere and they want to eat with people."

She said it was taking "far too long" for people to be allowed to sit in restaurants again.

"Customers are pushing to sit down. They are sick and tired of eating inside their cars and houses," she added.

"They want something different to make them happy. They are telling us they are ready to return but they are not being listened to."

'We are listening'

The Scottish government announced earlier this month that tourism businesses, including pubs, hotels and restaurants, should prepare to reopen on 15 July.

The date is conditional on moving to the third phase of the route map for easing lockdown restrictions.

The government has now published guidance on the steps which businesses will need to take to be able to reopen, ranging from social distancing to improved hand hygiene.

On Saturday, Tourism Secretary Fergus Ewing said: "Industry is telling us what it needs and we are listening.

"The coming months will be extremely challenging but the Scottish government is doing everything in its power to ensure this vital sector bounces back."