“Have you not learned by now that uncertainty is the most stressful part of all?”
Over the weekend, it was reported that bars and restaurants around the country are expected to close earlier than previously planned.
It is expected that the government will close all bars and restaurants (with the likely exception of delivery and take away) from Wednesday, December 30, a week ahead of the current plans of increasing the Level 3 restrictions on Thursday, January 7.
Meanwhile, NPHET have proposed an even earlier closure of all bars and restaurants, from Monday, December 28.
In response to this, several Dublin bars, cafes, and restaurants have taken to sending messages directly to Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, and Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe, asking for answers.
Taking to social media, Peaches Kemp – the co-owner/founder of multiple Dublin cafes and bars, stated:
“We need clarity on closures NOW. Orders need to be altered/cancelled, suppliers, customers & staff all need to know what is happening. Have you not learned by now that uncertainty is the most stressful part of all?”
The team at Las Tapas De Lola made a similar statement online:
“If a decision’s to be made.. please do it now. 28 Dec closure little use to many of us who don’t reopen until 27 Dec post-Xmas. We’ve our team, suppliers & customers to think of. Communication is king and in a timely manner.”
Some outlets have taken to closing their doors prior to any announcements being made, including Sprezzatura, who closed both restaurants “with immediate effect” over the weekend, and 57 The Headline, who stated this morning that “Our last evening regardless of incoming restrictions, will be Christmas eve.”
Adrian Cummings, the CEO of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, told Newstalk the following:
“The news is a huge blow to our industry, to the morale of our staff, to the 150,000 workers across the country that are waking up to that news that they are being effectively been scapegoated. We feel we are being unfairly targeted and treated by NPHET, they have had an agenda against hospitality from the very beginning.
“We’ve done everything we’ve been asked to do, we’ve developed Government guidelines for safety for our guests, they are now in question, why did we develop them in the first place? Our industry, and the facts are there, there have been no COVID outbreaks in restaurants or pubs that serve food in the last 14 days.”
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