An Announcement (And a long thread)....

It is with sadness (but determination), that we have decided to pre-empt what we feel is inevitable and close from Monday 2nd November.

This will be for a currently unknown length of time (but not forever), until we can trade again in conditions that are not restrictive to the point of being unsustainable.

Already, we don’t know if we will make it that far, as ‘circuit breaker’ reports are gathering steam, and the possibility of ‘Tier 3’ looms. But this is how long we need to get our affairs in order and plan for what is next.

While national and local restrictions have become ingrained in all of our lives, the most recent succession of restrictions has had a significant and cumulative, negative effect on our business.

The curfew; just one example, implemented with almost no notice, wiped out 30% of our (new) normal sales for the week.

Our earlier reservation slots usually fill at shorter notice, but with the curfew being introduced, it was necessary for our later tables to arrive earlier, leaving fewer opportunities for two sittings.

And now we have ‘Tiers’. The leaks to the press that last week led to days of reports that most of the hospitality sector in the north would soon be closed, led to cancellations, but also, a lack of new reservations.

We lost a day of trading through being unsure whether to place beer orders, etc. Eventually we settled in as part of the vast Tier 2 community but with Tier 3 ever on the periphery…

Sure, we are easily as much a restaurant as a pub, so could potentially continue to trade, but with the entire loss of our drinking and walk-in trade. That is on top of losing 40% of our capacity. On top of having only single household tables sat.

On top of only being able to operate until 10pm. On top of the perhaps almost subconscious ‘spooking’ of potential guests that occurs each time a new announcement is made. On top of the fact we have spent far more of this year under restriction than not.

We are at our limit. We experienced the extreme limbo before the first lockdown (‘you can stay open, but people should not go’- remember that one? A week of trade decimated back then too), and we see the same coming for us again. It’s just a restriction or two, too many.

We can be sure when further announcements are made, that there will be no opportunity to prepare, no opportunity to deplete stock, no opportunity to limit the various other losses, problems and additional work created.

Therefore, we have decided to no longer continue to be at the mercy of an ever-growing patchwork of… Whatever… Tiers, Steps, Rules of…, Bubbles, Empty Three-Word Slogans…

The industry as a whole has compromised so much, limited its capacity so greatly, muted its atmosphere to a whisper of what was before and done its best to adhere to last-minute changes, despite notably stringent rules and a notably high standard of compliance being enforced.

No business is alike, and for some it is better to be able to trade on some level, than not to trade at all. But I would suspect that fewer are thriving than in those first reopening days.

Anyway, for the rest of October, we plan on seeing as many of you as we can and enjoying it thoroughly. Then we will turn our attention to takeaway and Christmas retail. We are not giving up, rather we are taking matters into our own hands.