Restaurants are simply opening an hour earlier
The new coronavirus measures are hitting restaurants and cafés hard once again. A maximum of thirty guests, last guests allowed in at nine o’clock, closing at ten. Koninklijke Horeca Nederland calls it a death blow for the hospitality industry in trade magazine Misset Horeca. And the restaurants? They’re simply opening an hour earlier to meet those deadlines.
Late lunch or an early dinner—perhaps that boundary will blur somewhat in the coming period. Restaurants want to do everything they can to stay open and welcome as many guests as possible, in order to keep their heads above water. Recording contact details? Check. Five feet apart? Sure. A maximum of thirty guests? OK. And closing earlier? Uh… that’s rather difficult. To make it work while still allowing people to enjoy a relaxed meal, many restaurants are simply opening a little earlier.
Jaimie van Heije opens its doors at noon, Lazuur accepts reservations from 5:00 p.m., Het Broeker Huis starts at 5:30 p.m., and Ron Blaauw is also advising guests to come a little earlier. A creative solution to this problem.
Alcohol-related contact moments
For cafés, it will be more difficult to get everyone out by 10:00 p.m.; on an average Saturday evening, people are only heading toward the café around that time. But according to Mark Rutte, it has to be done to prevent “alcohol-related contact moments.” Entrepreneurs are looking ahead to it with despair. De Speld was quick to respond: “Pub owner adjusts opening hours: ‘We’re opening at 11:00 p.m. and closing at 10:00 p.m.’” Well, you have to be flexible, writes De Speld.
Koninklijke Horeca
While hospitality entrepreneurs scratch their heads and try to figure out how they will overcome this setback, trade association Koninklijke Horeca Nederland is negotiating the financial measures with which the government wants to support the entrepreneurs. Discussions include a Time Out Arrangement, under which companies that are currently unable to operate would be put into a kind of hibernation. They also want the support measures not to be phased out and the NOW allowance to remain in place.
Also read:
- Seriously: sharing personal data when making a reservation?
- Coronavirus crisis: these restaurants have since gone bankrupt
- Misery in hospitality: five feet apart is unrealistic and unprofitable
Source: Misset Horeca
