Restaurants call for blue-sky thinking on outdoor dining

RESTAURANTS should be allowed to take over public roads and car parks this summer to extend their outdoor seating options.

They should also be provided with grant aid to buy outdoor tables, chairs and heating systems, according to the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI)

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Ronan Glynn has said that this summer season will be ‘an outdoor one’ with ministers hinting that indoor hospitality may remain closed until the end of summer.

The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) sent detailed advice to the Government this week on how to handle the next stage of the pandemic, urging caution.

The team also warned again of the higher risk associated with certain activities including ‘dining, drinking, exercising, singing or shouting’.

‘The risks are higher when there are large gatherings, limited social distancing, dense congregation, mixing among groups and communal travelling to activities.’

Now Adrian Cummins, head of the RAI says local authorities and Fáilte Ireland need to help dig out the industry from the ‘worst period it has ever faced’.

‘We need a major pushback to help us get over this. Some restaurants will never open again. But for the ones that can hang on, they need every kind of help,’ he said.

‘We need a redoubling of the Cashback Covid Restriction Support Scheme (CCRS) and we need the extension of the wage subsidy scheme until the end of the year, at least.

‘We need grant aid to weatherproof restaurants for outdoor eating. It costs €1,000 for a restaurant to cater for every person who sits outside, including a seat and cover. Commercial rates need to be waived until the end of the year.

‘Fáilte Ireland has been a shambles so far but they need to step up. If we are going to save this summer, these are the things that need to be prioritised.’

Mr Cummins and representatives of his association have met with and lobbied the Tánaiste, the finance minister and the tourism minister over recent weeks.

Still, he says there is a lack of urgency with each new lockdown pronouncement sending the industry ‘into a further tailspin’.

Irish Mail on Sunday restaurant and wine critic, Tom Doorley agrees that the situation is critical.

‘Sadly, there will be plenty of casualties amongst restaurants and I fear that there will be a disproportionate number of good ones amongst them.’

Fiona McHugh, proprietor of the popular Lenehans bistro and shop in Rathmines, Dublin, says the stress caused by the Government’s vagueness is a nightmare.

‘We’ve just repurposed our restaurant as a takeaway shop

– the sixth grand opening since we started trading last November. It would be funny if it weren’t so stressful.

‘We spent a fortune kitting out our terraces for outdoor dining at the end of last year and got two weeks’ trade out of it. Each time a business closes, it takes a hit on waste, on wages, on everything, and most restaurateurs are thoroughly depleted – both emotionally and financially – at this stage.

‘The prospect of revving up yet again; trying to reopen on a wing and a prayer – even if it is for the last time – is absolutely terrifying. We have been well supported so far but the industry definitely needs restart grants for it to have any chance.

‘Cutting the wage subsidy in the summer, just as we start trying to win back customer confidence and face warehoused bills, is tantamount to pushing the industry over the cliff edge.’

‘We spent a fortune kitting out terraces’