Business focus: What pub and restaurant chiefs think of two-metre rule

The bosses of Wahaca and Fuller’s are among a list of experts that spoke to the Evening Standard about the two-metre social distancing rule.

Pub and restaurant owners are working towards reopening sites in July 2020

Sean Dempsey/PA

Joanna Hodgson

17 June 2020

Companies that were forced to shut restaurants, cafes and pubs when the Covid-19 lockdown started in March are facing a number of headaches as they work towards reopening.

As different operators have pointed out, there are costs linked to getting new health and safety measures in place, such as heightened cleaning procedures or putting screens at till points which some bar owners are looking at. On top of that, food and drinks need to be ordered and rotas need to be sorted for staff, many of who were furloughed. There is plenty to do ahead of July 4, the date the hospitality sector is hoping to reopen, in line with government guidelines.

But there is one major thing chief executives are waiting to hear about: whether a two-metre social distancing rule will be relaxed.

The Prime Minister has previously said he hoped the two metre social distancing rule could be reduced, and some countries have adopted a one-metre distancing guidance. UK firms are urgently seeking more details on social distancing plans.

Companies are calculating whether their sites can serve enough customers, with social distancing measures in place, to make them financially viable. They are also looking at how practical it is to open under certain conditions.

There are firms that have sites ready and able to cope with the current guidelines. However, the British Beer & Pub Association, which represents pubs and brewers, said it estimates that if the current distancing rules were to remain in place when sites reopen, only a third of England’s pubs (12500) would be ready to start serving again.

Simon Emeny, chief executive of Fuller’s who wants the rules to be relaxed to one-metre, said: “We are planning in the dark here and it is not acceptable.”

Ben Stackhouse at PubLove, which runs sites in London, said: “We must have clarity now or we will lose more and more brilliant companies who would otherwise be driving the economic fight back.”

The chief executive of Young’s, Patrick Dardis, told the Evening Standard earlier this month that “having a one metre guideline would allow us to open more pubs and employ more staff”.

In the restaurants sector there are also concerns about how realistic it is for sites to open with two-metre rules in place.

Mexican restaurant chain Wahaca’s co-founder Mark Selby thinks under the current two-metre rule, businesses would need large sites, with extensive outside space and flexible rent terms available, to make reopening economically viable.

Selby said: “The economics of producing fresh food, in our case with over 200 ingredients cooked every day, with a team of chefs, managers, waiters and bar teams cannot work if you are effectively reducing your number of covers by nearly 75%. The fixed costs are just too rigid.”

Selby said his message to the government would be: “Trust those of us in hospitality to get on with it and get the economy going. We will create safe but equally uplifting places for people.”

A spokeswoman for Pizza Express, which has started to open some branches for delivery and click and collect, said: “Whilst our current reopening plans adhere to the two-metre rule, there are certain limitations that come with this. Clear guidance is essential for us and the industry-at-large to plan properly.”

The spokesman added: “The optimal solution would be for social distancing to be reduced to one metre if it was safe to do so. We remain committed to operating safely while at the same time supporting economic recovery.”

Will Hawkley, global head of leisure and hospitality at KPMG, said if a one-metre guidance came in firms can operate at around 70% capacity, which he said is about break even, “but at least brings in cash and keeps people employed and outlets open”.

Firms are eagerly waiting to digest the latest updates from the government.

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