THURS, nov 05, 2020
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ISSUE : 1138
998
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brett lovell scores 53rd goal for church author self-publishes book - PAGE 05
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lifeline grant for penistone organ trust - PAGE 11
HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY BACK INTO LOCKDOWN SHEFFIELD, along with the rest of England, looks to be making the switch from the tiered system into a full national lockdown as the country struggles to bring the rising number of coronavirus cases under control. Parliament are set to vote on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s proposal on Wednesday. With Sheffield having being in the ‘very high’ tier of the system, a key guideline has been that pubs and restaurants can only sell alcohol with a ‘substantial’ meal. This follows the full lockdown which began in March and then the ‘Help Out to Eat Out’ scheme that came after. Some pubs have claimed that the restrictions of the very high tier have made their businesses unviable and have derided the Government for not helping enough.
The Wortley Arms’ loyal customers have ensured that it has survived
We spoke to Stefano Ispani, owner of Ponti’s Italian Kitchen, and Jamie Ellis, manager of
the Wortley Arms to see how the restrictions had affected their business and what their thoughts are looking into the next month. Stefano of Ponti’s in Fox Valley, Stocksbridge, recognises that the Government have difficult choices to make.
Speaking to Look Local, Stefano said: “Realistically we won’t know what the correct action to take will have been for two or three years. That’s something we’d have to assess retrospectively. We’re in middle of a battle and we’re abiding by the rules. We need the benefit of time and probably a good Netflix documentary series to give us the answer! “I have made a couple of observations. Firstly, I think Fox Valley as a centre has benefitted from the physical layout. It’s a local town centre with outdoor parking and there was a lot of foresight from Mark Dransfield.
“I think we, as an operator, are blessed to have a spacious restaurant with a big outside area. Even with having to move furniture around and removing some tables, we still have the capacity to be viable. “We are blessed to have a proactive and positive landlord who is keen to help with promotions and remained very positive during lockdown. When you add up those factors, we’ve been more fortunate than traditional shopping centre restaurants.” Asked if he thinks the Government have done enough to support the hospitality sector, Stefano says: “Let me say this; we are apolitical. We served Margaret Thatcher at 10 Downing Street, I played football in the garden with Harold Wilson as my father was friends with him and we served Tony Blair on his campaign bus twice. Continued on page 2
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