Local businesses echo city centre restaurant’s plea for Government support

Hugo's Restaurant on Merrion Row shared an impassioned plea for Government support over the weekend, spurring many other local businesses to sound off in the comments calling for the same.

Tara Leathers, a shoe repair and leathercraft specialist with branches around the city, retweeted the message writing: "We know how this feels". As did Las Tapas De Lola, another Dublin favourite, who encouraged people to support local. "This leaves us lost for words. We've a fantastic city... beautiful restaurants.. buses and luas on the go...#supportyourlocal #dublinisourlocal". Many have commiserated with the challenges hospitality workers and restaurants are facing at this time, with one local woman writing that the photos shared by Hugo's "would certainly pull on the heart strings". https://twitter.com/ZoeKeane/status/1290013471396917249 Celebrity chef Neven Maguire also weighed in on the matter. Describing it as "shocking", he said that he was "saddened" to see Dublin so quiet in the height of what is usually one of its busiest times of the year. Others noted a vastly different experience to the one described by the team at Hugo's - commenting that many city centre haunts were so busy they were turning walk-ins away. https://twitter.com/d4psychologist/status/1289643518047051777 https://twitter.com/TonyCar57734381/status/1289676530805649408 However, with many away for the long weekend, there are hopes that things will pick back up again as people return to Dublin.

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