Coronavirus: Restaurants and cafes start to feel ‘social distancing’ effect

One action more than any other this week brought home the true seriousness of the coronavirus situation. It wasn’t Donald Trump’s ludicrous decision to ban flights from Europe except the UK which will simply route the possible spread through our airports. What really showed the depth of the trouble was Italy’s decision to close all restaurants, bars and cafes. After a 30 per cent jump in cases in Italy in just 24 hours, the draconian measures were understandable but still a seismic shock. Italy is home to more than 160,000 restaurants and eating out is the second religion in the country. Compared to the UK, many more people live in flats and apartments in Italy so restaurants and cafes play an even greater part in the country’s social life. But when socialising can lead to contagion, it has to take second place to the health of the nation. Here in the UK the impact of spontaneous social distancing is starting to bite. Anecdotally, many cafes, bars and restaurants are reporting cancellations and a general downturn. Private dining room spaces seem to be particularly unattractive to the public at the moment. Industry news website The Caterer reports takings across the sector are down at least 25 per cent. The measures announced in Wednesday’s Budget will go some way to help businesses weather the storm but no one knows at this stage how long the that will last or how deep the impact will be. Many bars and restaurants have taken to social media to offer reassurance to their customers. They are well placed to do that. All Government safeguarding advice at the moment revolves around hygiene and food-and-drink businesses already face incredibly stringent rules and regulations when it comes health and safety. They are designed to protect against food poisoning but really come into their own now. Usually all the cleaning takes place when the doors are closed but if only to reassure customers, we can probably expect it to be more visible. In addition, the scientific advice at the moment does not involve closing down small gatherings of people and the average restaurant is less than 100 covers. Michelin starred chef Jason Atherton took to Instagram to reassure his 100,000 followers that it is business as usual. “Our restaurants remain safe and hygienic and customer and staff safety is of vital to importance for us,” he said. Tom Kitchin posted that his company “is taking specific measures to assure the safety and well being of our guests and team”. That encouragement is vital because we are in this for the long run. On Thursday England’s Chief Medical Officer predicted the coronavirus peak could still be 10 to 14 weeks away. That means potentially three months of uncertainty and disruption. And what then? At the moment it feels like watching a Hollywood disaster movie being played in slow motion but there will be a day when all this is over and things get back to normal. If we want our favourite bars and restaurants to be there for us then, we need to be there for them now.

Coronavirus: Restaurants and cafes start to feel ‘social distancing’ effect – Stephen Jardine