Nationwide Lockdown: 5 Tips for bar and restaurant owners

It's official, a second nationwide lockdown is upon us, and with a lack of clarity from the government on how long it might last it’s sure to be a rough few weeks or even months for everyone - especially hospitality business owners.

So here's, 5 tips to support your business during a lockdown:

1. Apply for a government grant

A one-off grant of up to £9,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses will be available to pubs, restaurants and others in the sector who were forced to close.

This is what you can expect to receive based on your rateable value:

• £4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under

• £6,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000

• £9,000 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000

How to apply for the £9000 lockdown grant?

You first have to see if you qualify and which bracket your business falls under, you can do this by clicking the link below, it should only take a couple of minutes to fill out but it will be a few weeks before your application is reviewed and any payments are made.

Side note: By completing the form you will be shown all support schemes you might be eligible for like the bounce back the loan or self-employed income support scheme.

2. Sign up to popular delivery services like Deliveroo

Since indoor seating is now banned nationwide, the takeaway is the only way to keep your business operational during the lockdown. Luckily it’s really easy to make your business available for delivery even if you have never offered it before.

Popular services like Deliveroo and Uber eats cover your deliveries and are easy to sign up to and with their already large user base, it makes it easier for customers to find your venue. However, this comes at a cost of around 20-30% of the sale price which might not be worth it if you already do deliveries at some capacity.

3. Take out your own deliveries

If you have drivers, setting up a POS with deliveries is a good start that way you can manage your orders more efficiently. However, a phone number or Whatsapp might be everything you need for deliveries if you are running a small local restaurant.

4. Use social media to your advantage

It’s not always the food that brings in the customers, the experience of going out for a meal or trying a new restaurant is often what gets us to try something new. Advertising your business on platforms like Instagram and Facebook can be a good way to show off your venue and get the taste buds going with some of your best dishes. And it doesn't have to cost a thing but could lead to more people discovering your restaurant. Just remember to keep things interesting and interact with your customers.

5. Be prepped and ready for action once this is over

We’ll be out of this mess eventually so to help Hospitality businesses in the Greater Liverpool region be ready for whatever new restrictions might come next we are offering Hopsy free for the full duration of lockdown plus an additional 3 Months.

All covid checklists, risk assessments, task lists and more will make running your business more streamlined and less of a nightmare to run with the ever-changing regulations and restrictions.