Local restaurants take another hard knock

Writer Hedda Mittner

The new Level 3 restrictions, which include another temporary alcohol ban and a curfew that limits the trading hours of restaurants to 8pm, came as another kick in the teeth of our beleaguered restaurant and wine industries.

“We have effectively lost our three busiest weeks of the season,” says Brennan Davies of The Wine Glass. “The impact of the restrictions is colossal, as we were banking on this holiday season to recoup at least some of the losses we incurred during the earlier lockdowns last year.”

With the absence of international tourists and ‘swallows’, the closure of our beaches and other Level 3 restrictions that were imposed by Pres Cyril Ramaphosa on 28 December, restaurateurs in Herman-us confirmed that it was not the season they had hoped for and that they were currently operating in “survival mode”.

While most establishments had stocked up on wine and liquor for the summer season which they are now unable to sell, they also had to purchase additional supplies of non-alcoholic drinks for their customers. The restaurants that have been the hardest hit are those that rely heavily on dinner trade and would normally have two evening sittings. By having to close at 8pm, they are losing a lot of trade at a time they can least afford it.

More than one restaurant owner said that customers still try their luck by asking for alcohol or sneaking in their own, but that they are not prepared to take any chances. “We can’t risk losing our liquor licences now,” says Petri Hendriksz of Char’d and Pear Tree.

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