'The money we lost was eye-watering': Cork businesses take first steps to recovery

With progress being made towards relieving Ireland's lockdown businesses are facing significant challenges when it comes to reopening their doors. Alan Healy speaks with Mike Ryan who operates five Munster restaurants.

Mike Ryan, proprietor of The Cornstore and Coqbull Restaurants with staff Richard Desousa and Aisling Barrett gets bags and boxes ready for their take-away service. Picture: Larry Cummins.

Mike Ryan employed 190 people at his five restaurants in Limerick and Cork before Covid-19. He now has 30 at work in two locations providing takeaways and meal kits from the Cornstore and Coqbull restaurants.

Ryan is one of the thousands of business owners eagerly awaiting guidelines and details from the government about the unwinding of the lockdown. However, he said it is clear that the industry will be severely impacted into the future even after they are allowed to reopen.

“It’s very clear we will be living with social distancing for some time until a vaccine or clear treatment emerges.

If we are allowed to reopen by employing strict social distancing it will mean we will lose almost two-thirds of our seats. If I install perspex screens we can probably reduce that to 50%,” he said.

“I think perspex is going to be more valuable than gold!”

But only serving half the customers for an extended period has clear knock-on impacts.

“It means we do not need as many chefs and front of house staff if we are only serving half the number of customers,” he said.

Mr Ryan said that while couples and families will return to eating out, restaurants will not be able to accommodate company events, engagement parties or other large gatherings which previously formed a significant part of their business.

The very nature of the night out will also change. The buses will also need to maintain social distancing and people coming into the city might feel more comfortable driving their own cars so they may not have a drink.

At the moment their takeaway service is going well. Having begun in Limerick they have now expanded the service at their Cork restaurants and plan to increase the number of days they are providing the service.

“People are supporting it. Many forget that the 2km rule does not apply when you are going out for food. We have two kitchens here which means I can split the staff into teams to maintain social distancing."

"It’s something we are doing in a way that is neither making us money and is not losing us money. There is that fear that the longer you remain closed without any activity the harder it will be to start back up again.”

Chefs Hugo Martins and Claire O'Meara working in the kitchen. "Having begun in Limerick they have now expanded the service at their Cork restaurants and plan to increase the number of days they provide the service." Picture: Larry Cummins

Mr Ryan is not alone. Thousands of cafes and restaurants across the country are wrestling with the challenges of how they can reopen and get customers back in a way that adheres to social distancing rules and allows them pay their staff.

The Restaurant Association of Ireland has set out a nine-point plan for recovery that includes a 0% VAT rate, legislation to protect commercial leaseholders, continued wage supports until a vaccine is found and a commercial rates write off for restaurants and the hospitality sector for the full crisis period.

The Irish restaurant sector was already experiencing a downturn as a result of Covid-19 in advance of any restrictions or closures as large and corporate reservations dried up.

Employment in the sector stood at 179,800 on a seasonally adjusted basis in the final quarter of 2019, which is equivalent to 7.6% of total employment in the economy.

Lawrence Owens the CEO of the Cork Business Association said every sector is challenged in how they can reopen their doors.

"We are awaiting guidelines from the government and health advisors but it will be a very challenging time for all businesses," he said.

"What we require now most of all is clear guidance and a roadmap so that business owners can begin planning in the right way."

"I think it is clear that the hospitality and restaurant sector face clear difficulties in maintaining social distancing. It is very difficult to achieve in a restaurant, a small cafe or in a pub."

Mr Owens said streets will need to work together in the same way traders on Cork's Princes Street are planning outdoor seating to allow them to serve more customers.

We will need a bespoke plan for every street given the different mix of retailers, whether that is outdoor seating or how customers enter and leave a premises.

Despite the call for clarity from authorities, and a roadmap for the future there is no demand for the process to be rushed. Mr Owens and Mr Ryan are both in agreement that the worst thing for businesses in Ireland would be for then to reopen too early and for a second lockdown to be required.

"Even If I was told I could reopen in June I wouldn't do it," Mr Ryan said. "You are talking about another two or three months. We will have to watch the figures very carefully and be sure things are steady and there will not be a surge in new cases."

"The worst that could happen is for restaurants to be told to close again. That would be the death knell for many of us.

The money we lost in the run-up to the lockdown was eye-watering.

Mr Owens said that unfortunately there were businesses big and small that will not be able to reopen.