THE refurbishment of a Dorset restaurant, described as “absolutely smashing”, has been overshadowed by a huge loss in business amid “no Covid clarity”.
Popular fish restaurant SoboFish, located in Bournemouth, recently reopened to rave reviews following a £90,000 refurbishment.
Owner Matt Betteridge said: “I love it, they’ve done an absolutely smashing job. We see the refurb as an investment so every penny we made in the summer went into it.
“When I took over in 2020, the restaurant was adequate but not what we wanted going into the future. We feel now it’s brighter, more comfortable and in keeping with the high quality, fresh local food we sell.”
However, despite the success of the refurbishment, Matt says “it all went wrong” when the government’s plan B announcement left the hospitality sector with “no clarity” and has seen initially strong Christmas bookings plummet.
He said: “There was lots of excitement after the refurb and locals were keen to get back in which was great for us. The first week of December we were absolutely chock-a-block. Then into the second week after the announcements, it all went wrong.
“We lost 30 per cent of our bookings, primarily the larger parties of eight to 10 people which means the customers get their deposits back so it’s been difficult.
“I feel there’s been no clarity at all and to announce [Plan B] two weeks before Christmas was cockeyed. Of course it’s not just us, it’s all those in hospitality and retail. I have a friend with a shop and her sales are down [up to] 40 per cent.”
Matt says the government’s cash injection grant of £6k is a “fraction” of what restaurants need amid the current uncertainty. He says it costs £8k a week to stay open and believes a further furlough scheme would be of greater benefit to those in hospitality.
He said: “There are 15 people working here, including me, and I have a great team. I’m worried about my staff and keeping them here – it’s just not fair on them as they have bills to pay.”
SoboFish closed on December 18 to “cut its losses” ahead of Christmas but hopes to reopen on Wednesday January 5, 2022.
Matt concluded: “We intend to be back in January because we want to be open. We can’t really plan anything at the moment but this is a sticky month for the whole industry.
“What I can say is we’ve done this once and got through, and we’ll do it again.”
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