Covid: 'Cheaper to shut restaurant than stay open'
- Published
Number 27 in Inverness is among bars and restaurants in the city to be shut temporarily
Some bars and restaurants in Inverness are to close temporarily during 16 days of new restrictions.
Indoor venues in the area can stay open, but owners said limits to serving non-alcoholic drinks only and closing at 18:00 BST would adversely affect business.
Several premises plan to shut while the restrictions are in place.
Restaurant owner Mark Wilson said: "It is not about making money any more, but about losing the least money you can."
His bar and restaurant, Number 27, is among premises in Inverness to post messages to customers to say they are closing temporarily. Others include Encore and live entertainment venue The Botanic House.
Another bar, Rose Street Foundry, has closed for the remainder of the year with a plan to reopen next spring.
The moves follow a Scottish government announcement on Wednesday about the introduction of new restrictions designed to suppress Covid-19 following an increase in cases.
From Friday evening, pubs and restaurants will be closed in five health board areas - Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Forth Valley, Lothian and Ayrshire and Arran.
Elsewhere in Scotland, hospitality venues can open inside from 06:00 until 18:00 to sell soft drinks and food, while alcohol can be served in outside areas until 22:00.
Licensed cafes can remain open as long as they do not serve alcohol.
Mr Wilson, whose premises does not have outside space, said it was not viable to continue running his business while the new limits were in place.
He said 90% of his trade was after 18:00 and 40% of sales were alcoholic drinks.
The Botanic House is also to closing temporarily while the new restrictions are in place
Number 27 is to close temporarily from Friday night for the duration of the restrictions.
On Thursday, discounts were offered on meals to help use up supplies, with food not used being offered to foodbanks.
Mr Wilson said his business had received financial help earlier during the pandemic, but it was unclear what government assistance might be available now.
He said it was cheaper for him to close temporarily than try to continue to run the business under the new restrictions.
"It's going to be three weekends that are going to be affected, the best part of a month. Weekends are when we get the bulk of our trade," he said.
There has been an impact on jobs. The 15 staff who were employed in March has since been reduced to seven, and discussions on further redundancies have started.
'Above and beyond'
Live entertainment venue-come-cocktail bar The Botanic House had only reopened on 25 September following new investment and much work to make sure it complied with legislation and guidance on Covid-19.
New measures had included changes to seating areas, floor signage, a new booking system, temperature checks at the front door and hand sanitising stations. Workers have been trained to a high standard with mandatory Covid training modules for each member of staff and daily checks in place.
General manager Tom Wilding said the venue had gone "above and beyond" what was required of it so that customers and staff felt safe.
"We created a whole new way of working, changing from a live music and entertainment venue, to introducing new food and cocktail menus, the business was starting to see some flow."
The Botanic House is to reopen at the end of this month following temporary closure
The venue had also constantly sought to adapt to rules, including 22:00 closing, "which was a real impact on operations", he said.
He said it had considered adapting further to meet the latest restrictions, adding: "Unfortunately, serving alcohol is no longer possible for us as we don't have the option to serve outdoors, and with the way we had been operating we were forced to close the doors."
Mr Wilding said the business remained "optimistic and positive" and was hoping for relaxed restrictions when it reopened on 30 October.
'Heavy heart'
In a social media post, Rose Street Foundry said it was with "a very heavy heart" that it had taken the decision to close its doors for the rest of the year.
It said: "With the most recent restrictions and anticipated future restrictions, it has become unviable for us to continue in this economic climate.
"This is not 'Last Orders' at Rose Street Foundry and we will be back better, stronger and wiser ready to start again in spring 2021.
"Thank you to everyone for your continued support in these most troubling times. Stay safe, stay sane and stay positive."
Supplier Gary Williamson said there was a sense of "dismay" among his customers at the new restrictions
Inverness-based Williamson Foodservice supplies cafes, bars and restaurants in the Highlands.
Managing director Gary Williamson said there was a sense of "dismay" among his customers, and some had told him they would be closing.
He said the temporary end of evening meals in restaurants was likely to have a big impact.
"Cafes should be able to operate fine and safely, and I hope that continues and will give us something," he added.
Hotels and restaurants say they have taken steps, such as enhanced cleaning, to allow them to operate safely
Highlands hotel boss Tony Story said the new restrictions coming during the October school holidays would be "devastating" for the hospitality sector.
Mr Story's Kingsmills and Ness Bank hotels are fully booked for October, but he now anticipates cancellations.
He said it was important the spread of Covid-19 was tackled, but the restrictions had left his business in "no man's land".
"Should we just close or not?" he said.
"Are people really going to want to travel and stay in hotels when they cannot take a drink past six o'clock in the evening? I really don't know."
Mr Story said hotels were already operating under tight regulations, adding: "We were hoping to get through October - our last gasp to reserving some funds to take us through winter.
"I think that has just been taken away."
- Published8 October 2020
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