‘How can we survive?’: Eastbourne restaurants’ fears over ‘Plan B’ restrictions

The Prime Minister announced that England will move to Plan B on December 8 following the rapid spread of the Omicron variant in the UK.

The new measures encourage all those that can to work from home, and mandate the wearing of face masks.

Restaurants and bars in the area have largely supported the move to tackle the spread of the new variant, but have expressed concern that they have not received enough support to manage the expected drop in business.

Owners worry that, despite the hospitality sector being exempt from many of the new restrictions, business will be affected as those working from home will not engage in Christmas lunches that play such a big role in the festive period for restaurants.

They said they also expect footfall to drop as people avoid going out due to fear of catching the new variant.

Deepak Panday, who is the head chef at Dolma Kitchen on Susans Road, said, “If there is a problem we have to change things. We have to do it right away because (it involves) so many people’s lives.”

Despite voicing his support for the move to reduce infections, the chef said further restrictions could make things difficult for the restaurant industry.

He said, “It is really going to be a big problem. We cannot survive if we go this way.

“How can we survive?

“Everybody is going to suffer a lot and if businesses close down how will we pay the rent? How will the businesses survive? They are not going to give us free rent.”

Vicky Kotsiou, owner of Gr/Eat Greek cuisine, added, “Not only are we facing a high number of cancellations since the announcements, 55 per cent, but we’re also experiencing a decreasing booking pace at 38 per cent when comparing the week prior to the announcements versus the week after.