Covid: James Sommerin positive for his industry's future

Despite losing his eponymous Michelin-starred restaurant during the Covid crisis and lockdown pausing his latest venture after just 29 days, chef James Sommerin is feeling positive.

"It's been a tragic year in as far as the restaurant is concerned but it's also been an amazing year," he said.

Wales' lockdown has seen restaurants closed since just before Christmas.

First Minister Mark Drakeford has suggested it is unlikely restaurants will open at the start of April.

But Sommerin is hoping for "a little bit of back to normal".

"Once everybody's had their vaccine, or the majority have, I think it will be a really good year," he said.

"You've always got to have the glass half-full, never half-empty."

But he admitted after closing Restaurant James Sommerin in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, it had taken him some time to reach this outlook.

"When we lost the restaurant we didn't just lose a salary, we lost everything," he said.

"[Closing the restaurant was] the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life.

"If somebody had spoken to me eight months ago after we lost the restaurant I would have been in a very different place.

"I was at the point where I didn't really know what to do with myself, I had to struggle to console myself with the loss and the problems that we went through, and I hate to say it - through no fault of our own."

He said the "sheer levels of rent" and not being eligible for support because they were above the rateable value of £51,000 threshold meant they could not continue.

"We didn't have any support, hence we lost the restaurant," he said.

"But I have to be positive, you know, things happen for a reason in life. You know, we just have to adapt and overcome."

He said providing meals for NHS workers through the Feed the Heath initiative had been a highlight: "Those guys are really doing the hard work on the front line."

Another highlight has been opening new restaurant The Shed in Barry, but these experiences have given him a new perspective.

"I think it's made everybody realise that you have to prioritise things, what's important to you," he added.

"Being with Lou [his wife] and the kids, and and having a little bit more family time is great... we've loved it.

"But at the end of the day, I thrive on an 18-hour shift, putting my heart and soul into food and putting that on the plate... I love the industry, I absolutely adore it."

He thinks business could be better than ever once restaurants reopen: "Everybody's desperate to get out - we need that sort of normality in our lives... we're all dying to get out to have a little bit of pampering."

But he cautioned against moving too soon: "I am very mindful of us opening too quickly.

"I don't want us to be put back in this predicament again in two or three months down the line... seeing everybody go back into lockdown.

"Having lost one restaurant, I certainly don't want to lose any more. Better to be safe than sorry and have a slower, gradual route to bringing everybody out of lockdown."

He said being given adequate notice, being able to serve indoors and not having restrictions on selling alcohol could give the hospitality sector the best chance of bouncing back.

It has been a tough year for Natalie Isaac, director of Bar 44.

On Friday the group announced it was "devastated" to be closing its Cowbridge restaurant after 20 years in the town.

With remaining restaurants in Cardiff, Penarth and Clifton in Bristol, she is eager to reopen to customers but does not want to see the same restrictions the industry faced in December.

"If we are allowed to open it has to be in a viable way," she said.

"There are lots of rumours going around at the moment, like outdoors only or the no-alcohol rule coming back again - that's not viable, we can't open and even cover our costs if that is to happen."

She said any information on what to expect would be useful: "We [the hospitality industry] are in dire straits - a lot of people are on their last pennies, or are using the end of their bounce-back loans and we need to be able to plan.

"Even if we knew what order things were going to be happening in - so if it was retail first, then self-catering, then restaurants and food, then wet-led businesses - give us an order."

Despite the challenges of the past year, Ms Isaac is also excited for the future: "We've had so many letters and cards and emails from customers to say how much they've enjoyed [our takeaways] and they can't wait to come back so, in that sense, it's just been brilliant."

She said shared adversity had brought together a new community of restauranteurs: "People are helping each other... questions of 'how would you deal with this?' or 'how would you negotiate with staff? What's your take on this?'

"You'd like to think that, when all this is over, we'll all also frequent each other's businesses, give it back to each other."

Stephen Terry, chef and owner of The Hardwick in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, is also reflecting on the upside.

"There's a lot of lessons to be learned from this. There have been some really great things that have happened in the past year," he said.

"Like the Welsh Independent Restaurant Collective... lots of people in Wales have really raised the bar and stepped up doing incredible things."

He said he would not like to see restaurants allowed to open outdoors only and restrictions on selling alcohol, adding: "I know it's going to be a long road ahead - I totally accept that and I'm absolutely up for that, we will do exactly as we are asked.

"The most important thing is the socialising - socialising between friends and family. That is really the key issue here and I miss it."

He said his restaurant was ready to spring into action: "A week's notice would be nice, any more than that would be a luxury.

"At the end of the day all we've done is shut the doors and cleared the shelves and got rid of all the stock and turned everything off - we've just got to turn it on, make some phone calls to get the orders in, call the staff - they're all chomping at the bit to get back."