Business owners react to fresh restrictions
Nick Watkins, owner of burger restaurant and takeaway El Perro Negro in Glasgow, said :“It’ s very tough navigating through this pandemic but that’s the same for businesses and individuals all over the UK as the support from the Treasury is just not there.
"Given the escalating situation with the virus we were expecting a blanket ban on takeaway. Whilst there will be some adjustments in store to accommodate [the changes to takeaway rules] I’m confident we can work around it.
“It’s not ideal but we are in the middle of a pandemic and public safety is priority."
Ian D’Annunzi o-Green, owner of Edinburgh’s Honeycomb & Co, said: “I understand the need to protect the population and to keep people safe, but this latest tightening of restrictions is another huge blow for hospitality, a sector genuinely struggling to survive given the impact of the past 11 months.
“It’ s an incredibly hard time for everyone and I’m so aware of how this affects our trusted suppliers and our own team.
“We’ve worked so hard, and spent thousands already on adapting how we operate and have reworked the interior and exterior in order to keep our staff, customers and neighbours safe. We’ll have to think about whether it’s viable.”
Julie Lin Mcleod, owner of Julie’s Kopitiam in Glasgow said :“We’re embrac-ing the change and will do everything we can within how we operate to try and be as safe as possible to help our NHS with this burden.”