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Restaurant Owner Loses £42,000 Of Bookings As London Heads For Tier Three

Restaurant Owner Loses £42,000 Of Bookings As London Heads For Tier Three

He claims he has been 'left in the lurch' by the government

Jake Massey

Jake Massey

A restaurant owner in London is set to lose £42,000 ($55,927) worth of bookings as the capital enters tier three lockdown restrictions.

The hospitality industry can only open on a takeaway business in the highest tier, meaning Jones & Sons restaurant in Dalston will lose hundreds of bookings when the city moves up a tier tomorrow (Wednesday).

Jones & Sons will miss out on a shedload of bookings.
PA

Owner Andy Jones said a week's worth of food will be 'wasted', with the restaurant now only opening for takeaway meals on Sundays.

The 40-year-old said: "This week, we had about £42,000 worth of bookings in the system already.

"It's a big restaurant, and when you're stripping away that sort of money from people's cash flow, when you take away the livelihoods of staff who have just joined me... there's just a whole group of people left in the lurch.

"My biggest gripe is that busy restaurants plan a week ahead. We've got a week's worth of food pretty much either prepped ready to go, bought in already - which you can't send back - or on order.

"Think about the wasted food, how many kids in this country and in other countries that would kill for that food.

"I'm going to have to pay all my bills in January, I've got to pay my rent in 10 days, it's unacceptable to give the hospitality industry 24 hours' notice."

Andy believes the situation could have been handled much better.
PA

The restaurant, which has been open for eight years, will see many staff eligible for furlough, but some new hires will not benefit from the scheme.

Andy said: "It could have been handled so much better.

"We have all of the necessary procedures in place, everybody has to wear a face mask, everybody has to sanitise their hands... this industry has gone to the nth degree to make sure we can remain open, and it's just been ripped away from us."

The fresh restrictions come into force just two weeks after pubs, restaurants, bars and cafes were allowed to reopen in London following a second national lockdown in England.

More than 60 percent of the population will be under the toughest restrictions.
PA

It means hospitality venues in the capital could be opening their doors today (Tuesday) for the last time this year.

Most of Essex and parts of Herefordshire will also move to tier three tomorrow, meaning 61 percent of England's population will be under the toughest restrictions.

Despite rising numbers of coronavirus cases in regions across the country, the government has said it has no plans to review Christmas guidelines.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Food, UK News, lockdown, Restaurant, Coronavirus, London