Michael’s Restaurant in Mount Merrion has confirmed it will remain closed next month due to “the lack of guidance we have received and the speed at which December is approaching.”
The Government is set to make a formal announcement tomorrow on how Ireland will exit Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions on December 1. While restaurants are expected to be allowed to reopen at some point in December, Michael’s owner Gareth Smith has cited a ‘lack of guidance’ as a reason he is deciding to remain closed over the Christmas period.
Taking to social media last night, he wrote: ‘Given the lack of guidance we have received and the speed at which December is approaching, we have made the very difficult decision to remain closed in Michaels throughout December. Instead of opening our doors, we are going to focus on our current, viable operations so that we can guarantee full time employment to our staff in the run up to Christmas.’
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Last month, Michael’s unveiled its ‘Little Lockdown’ outdoor veg market which was put in place as a means of keeping business running during Level 5 restrictions. In his post last night, Gareth added: ‘After seven months of constant pivoting, we simply cannot accommodate the uncertainty, risk, time and cost that would be involved to reopen at this stage. We really hope you understand our decision. We are gutted to have to choose between welcoming you back through our doors, and ensuring job security for our team. It was an incredibly tough call to make.’
He went on to say that ‘we have to opt for stability, and choose instead to continue with our Click and Collect menu, our Street Food Sundays and the expansion of our Little Lockdown markets, including our brand new Little Lockdown Northside in Higgins Butchers.’
Customers were also promised a ‘new range of Christmas dinner options, to make your life as easy as possible on the big day.’ You can read the full Michael’s post from last night here.
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