Covid: Can businesses survive another lost Christmas?

Christmas is usually the busiest time of year for shops, pubs and restaurants. With uncertainty over a new Covid variant, we asked businesses how they will cope if more restrictions are introduced over the next few weeks.

On Tuesday the government reintroduced mandatory face coverings in shops and on public transport, but hospitality is currently exempt.

Business owners in Whittlesey and Peterborough, in Cambridgeshire, and Ipswich say they are reliant on a good Christmas trade but fear worries over the Omicron variant and the possibility of more restrictions is keeping customers away.

Haylea Armstrong owns the Little House of Fragrance in Whittlesey and says there are fewer people coming into the store.

"It has been quieter since Tuesday and for the last few weeks, it's not as busy as expected this time of year," she said.

"It's our most important and busiest time. Online is definitely busier, people are still preferring to shop online."

Ms Armstrong says she is happy to see face coverings being brought back but would feel uncomfortable asking customers about why they are not wearing one.

"I think we need to do it to keep everyone safe and keep shops open and trading as normal," she said. "It's really tricky, I would feel uncomfortable asking them to wear one."

In Ipswich, Julien Jourdain is hoping to have 6,000 people in his restaurants the Bistro on the Quay and Mariners Restaurant over the next three weeks, with lots of Christmas parties booked.

"It's very, very important the Christmas parties go ahead this year," he said. "We very much depend on that to save countless jobs and to bounce back from the lockdowns and Covid."

He said he was slightly worried about cancellations - this Saturday a table of 25 had cancelled over Covid cases within the party.

And if a new lockdown is imposed, he worries it could lead to job losses and financial struggles.

For now, though, he is trying to stay positive and says he is operating in a safe way to protect staff and diners.

"Obviously [the uncertainty] is very, very worrying. We just need the big parties to make Christmas happen," he said.

"I think its very, very safe to come out - we've got social distancing, masks, gel and also cases not that much and everyone is jabbed. I think it's safe to come out for parties and having a good time."

House of Feasts in Peterborough has had 20 cancellations since the weekend, and says these were due to worries over Covid and the new variant.

Adam Gienza, the restaurant's general manager, said: "Our reservations have dropped massively - 48 that was the biggest number cancelled.

"People are afraid and don't know what will happen - another lockdown? Restrictions? Because we don't know what Omicron is.

"It's challenging because when we have a big party we need to shut the restaurant and today we have already ordered the lamb, potatoes, turkeys - and we can't cancel that.

"So we need to try and do something else to not lose money."

Amanda Fisher runs the Swan and Hedgehog pub in Ipswich, and two other establishments, and says she needs a great Christmas or she may be faced with having to consider closing some of her sites.

"We're all sitting on the fence not knowing what is going to be able to be done and not," she said.

With the Omicron variant prompting the reintroduction of masks in other settings, Ms Fisher says safety has to come first but she worries for the future of hospitality.

"You think 'oh no it's something else we've got to deal with' and you understand that everyone has got to feel safe and be safe.

"But hospitality has been hit so hard this year, it just makes you worry for your future."

She has already got fewer bookings for Christmas than in the past and says it is essential that hospitality can be open over the festive season.

"We didn't have debt prior to Covid but we've all got 'bounce back' loans, we're all behind on payments of certain things with being closed for so long," she said.

"It would be amazing [to stay open] but also you know you've got to keep people safe and they've got to feel comfortable to come into the pub.

"It's awful we've struggled through the summer with a lack of staff, regulations we keep trying and trying and unless we see a light at the end of the tunnel I don't know what we'll do."

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