ALL CHANGE

The government has announced a new three-tier system for setting coronavirus rules in England.

This will result in local lockdowns but what will it mean for local economies and business? Will we see more empty chairs at empty tables?

Jo Henwood spoke to entrepreneurs who are making a habit of taking a deep breath, preparing for the unknown and adapting.

Liverpool City Council led the way with its Without Walls initiative to help the hospitality sector redesign outdoor spaces. As part of the£450,000 plan, Bold St and parts of Castle St were pedestrianised andgrants were made available.

JACK BREWITT Managing director of 92 Degrees Coffee

Managing director Jack Brewitt doesn’t have ‘millions in the bank’, but he’d promised to keep paying staff from his four coffee stores and roaster, so he was overjoyed at the furlough scheme. In a business which relies on close contact between customers and staff, he was delighted to watch his online business go ‘through the roof’ with people ordering roastery coffee for their homes.

“I was asked to deliver some beans to a customer’s house. They opened the window and shouted ‘we love you and can’t wait for you to be back open! I’m so grateful for the support we’ve had.”

Jack admits that the going has been tough. “We’re minimising spending; our priority is to ensure our team is happy.”

92degrees.coffee

ROB WEBB Owner and managing director of VooDou Salon, Bold Street, Liverpool

VooDou Salon has survived two major recessions since Rob opened in the 70’s at just 18 years old. But lockdown was something completely different.

“We shut our doors not knowing when it would When Penny opened the doors of Kasbah after lockdown there was a buzz she says she has never felt before. They may be down to half capacity but people feel safer. “We’ve never been so busy! We worked really hard to keep the restaurant welcoming and relaxing, while maintaining all the social distancing and sanitation rules.” at the height of the

end,” said Rob. When the announcement came that hairdressers could reopen he was already ahead of the game. “We work with a great marketing company and we started selling advanced booking vouchers, even before we knew the exact date of reopening. We had everyone’s details and were able to contact them straight away.”

He was also watching safety measures taken by European salons. And to ease the journey back for both clients and staff Rob began cutting and styling again after a 20 year break. “We’ve been here 44 years – we’re not planning on going anywhere soon.”

voodou.co.uk

PENNY OUTAARAFT Manager Kasbah, Bold Street, Liverpool

She hasn’t forgotten the impact, both on her own mental health - she’s worked since she was 16 and found isolation difficult (although she enjoyed seeing more of her husband and five year old son) and concerns for her 20 staff, some of whom had family in Italy and Spain Eat Out to Help Out Scheme to kickstart the economy.

Penny is positive but is aware more than ever how quickly things can change. “The difficult thing is you can’t make a plan,” she says.

kasbahcafebazaar.co.uk

Thousands took advantage of the Government's Eat Out to Help Out scheme to kickstart the economy

SOPHIE WILLIAMS

“It’s been a worrying time but it forced me to think outside the box. I’ve noticed a wave of exciting new ideas and entrepreneurship in the creative industries”... artist Sophie Williams, who was inspired by the ‘extraordinary’ work of the NHS to create a range of rainbow coloured portraits and hand finished T-shirts. She’s donating 10% of purchases to the NHS.

CHARLIE TOMLINSON Owner at Wild Root

When Charlie’s plan to open a vegan restaurant in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle were scuppered the Fine Art graduate went back to basics and set about establishing a delivery service of fresh, healthy plant based food – all from her mum’s kitchen!

“I had always wanted to offer a delivery service, so I threw myself straight into deliveries, and it just took off,” said Charlie, 25.“People told me they were struggling to get hold of fresh options. Some were buying graze boxes as gifts for people they couldn’t get to see. It was a great test-bed for the café – I could see which recipes worked, what people liked and what they were ordering again.”

She was inspired by travels as a student. Words like kraut, kimchi and kombucha roll off the tongue as she experiments with fermentation, creative salads, curries and vegan cheeses – a trial outing on a market stall sold 200 cheeses in a day!

“I love playing with flavours. When I open my café I’ll have vegan cheese boards and graze plates to enjoy with a glass of wine.”

Charlie hopes to open her café by the end of the year. Be inspired at wildroot.cafe.

Delivery is available in the wider Liverpool area.