Restaurant owner angry at Executive ‘madness and indecison’

“We’ve taken the decision this morning not to open this weekend, regardless of what happens with the Executive,” Stevie Higginson, who runs the Square Bistro in Lisburn, told the News Letter.

“We do a few things over the weekend with the lockdown – we do our pop-up [takeaway service], we do our cook at home box on a Saturday, and we do a Sunday brunch takeaway on the Sunday morning.

“All that stuff has got to be ordered in and prepared. We can’t do both, it’s got to be one or the other, so we either had to weigh up the options. We’ve made the decision that we’re going to close.”

The restaurateur continued: “We will be continuing to do what we’ve been doing. The indecision is crazy.

“Michelle O’Neill was on a couple of times saying they wouldn’t leave it until the 11th hour to decide – here we are. It’s just madness.

“They went home [following a meeting of the Executive on Monday] at nine o’clock and left everyone sitting on tenterhooks, waiting to see if we are going to be open again.

“Maybe we would have had a chance but it’s too late now. Lunchtime is the cut-off point and we still don’t know. That’s it.”

Mr Higginson also criticised suggestions restaurants could still reopen but without alcohol sales.

“We would have been open if we had been told earlier – with alcohol. Without alcohol we wouldn’t,

“We have a 50% reduction in the restaurant already, so with alcohol sales you’re taking about another 25-30%. It doesn’t make sense to open at a loss.

“It’s part of our business plan. Selling alcohol isn’t just a nice wee add-on, it’s part of our business to allow us to make the figures we need and to survive. To do without it would be suicidal.”

Michael Cafolla, who runs a large cafe in Newtownards, was also highly critical of the Executive during a radio interview on Tuesday morning.

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster, he said there had been “no direction, leadership or consistent messaging” for businesses.

Alison Canney, who runs the Spaghetti Junction Italian restaurant in Londonderry, told BBC Radio Foyle she was also unhappy with the suggestion restaurants could reopen with alcohol sales prohibited.

“People come out to relax and unwind,” she explained. “It’s an experience. It’s not like alcohol is essential, but people like a glass of wine with an Italian meal.”

Close contact services such as hairdressing have also been closed as part of the four-week circuit-breaker lockdown restrictions. Carolyn McCauley, who runs a beauty parlour in Moira, described the delay in making a decision by the Executive as “simply not good enough”. Also speaking to the BBC, she added: “They’ve had four weeks to make these decisions and now here we are.”