Frankie and Benny's

Saying 120 restaurants will not reopen following lockdown. Upto 3000 workers at risk. Awful news for staff who are currently on furlough and will likely be made redundant before the company contributions start from August.
I fear it's only the start especially in the hospitality sector.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52899624

 

It is all ******, barring a few companies. You'll be able to go to Wetherspoons, so cheer up.

 

It's definitely only the tip of the iceberg.

The entire industry has been hung out to dry by Boris.
Furlough should have been 80% for minimum wage dropping down to 50% as it got closer to the 2500. And the money saved should have been spent in the industries ordered to close, not the companies who choose to close.

 

I don't know as I am qualified to say what would have been better with the furlough. But it certainly seems wrong that some businesses chose to shut when they weren't obliged to and used the furlough scheme. Now that the government is reducing the support those businesses will open again. Meanwhile the hospitality sector is facing ruin, and with support for those staff about to be tapered off too it's no surprise to see redundancies begin.

I went to the Y pas chippy which reopened yesterday. It's a favourite in our house. They had chosen to shut until now as they didn't want to put the staff or customers at risk. I have no problem with this. They have now put a few measures in place and reopened. I asked if they felt safer now, the reply was "a little, but really we couldn't stay shut forever"
Again I have no issue with this, in fact I was happy to go along and support a local business.
Sadly a lot of businesses don't have this choice, and even if they are permitted to open next month, social distancing may mean it's not financially viable to do so.
I too would have liked to have seen extra support available for the staff who work in this sector.

 

I'd rather not lol

 

Sad news, but I'm surprised they've lasted this long. I went to one a couple of times and it was absolutely *****.

 

A lot of the companies that will close forever are ones were on borrowed time anyway.

 

Except for Bolton Wanderers. They're the football equivalent of the cockroach. If you chopped all their players heads off, they'd still get eleven of them running out onto the pitch.

 

Its angering me now more and more how policy seems so uncoordinated and without logical reason. I was reading today about how much trouble Chester zoo is in. They are not allowed to open indefinitely, despite being a huge outdoor area with 16km of pathways, yet we can queue up to get in IKEA. And they appear now to be fighting for their survival Complete madness. Zoos like this play a vital role in conservation.

 

Like Chester Zoo? The biggest paid attraction outside London?

 

Where I live, the police forcibly closed a hand car wash and threatened to impose a big fine on the owner for breaking the lockdown. This is a business where the operator and the customer are literally separated by an airtight physical barrier.

Clearly the general population aren’t smart enough to make the same sort of ‘common sense’ judgement calls afforded to government advisors.

The police just seem to have taken this as a green light to keep themselves busy by harassing people seen sitting on park benches. It’s much easier than tackling real crime.

 

No, like Aberdeen Steak House, the overpriced tourist traps dotted around London.

 

Although not a fan. but that’s where wethers comes in handy. And brick lane.

 

Rumours were that Wetherspoons was heavily leveraged (in debt - IIRC over £1bn) - which is why their boss was openly against the closure of pubs when it first happened. The suggestion was that they've borrowed a lot of money to open new restaurants but without the income can't afford to service the debt.

 

I just hope there isn’t a link between the zoo’s struggling and Frankie & Bennys closing.

 

It's why we all have to go back to work . It's not like we really need burgers or fried chicken , infact most jobs are not that critical . It's that debt has been created and that debt needs servicing . I would nt mind if we were creating debt for things we really need but we don't , we worship the markets instead .

 

Spot on the crisis has highlighted what people need from what's nice to have. A lot of people will return to their old shopping, drinking, leisure habits but a lot won't. That's why the hospitality industry will be hit doubly hard.

 

I think a hell of a lot won't . Why risk it ? I would also agree that it has highlighted the suicidal nature of our economy , one built around consumption . While goods and services have become cheaper and cheaper the things we really need ; housing , education , healthcare have become even more expensive and out of reach for many . I would nt mind , we ve been building houses for the last 10,000 years or so but now their becoming unaffordable but if you want some fast food no problem ? Doesn't stack up .

 

Me and Laura will never get a mortgage with our finances. These new housing developments have been sat empty for a while.

On the flip side the supermarkets are rubbing their hands together. With the pubs shut they have a monopoly of the market. If I buy 18 pints of Strongbow it will cost me £54 in my local. At Morrisons it's £12 quid for 18 cans. They're raking it in.

Regarding take away's for the first time in ages Laura said to me "Don't bother saving a tenner out of your weekend money this weekend Steve. I'm making a chilli". The change in mindset has already begun.

 

Gave up fast food years ago apart from the odd occasion when I'm caught short ( busy ) . Used to love it , then the 2008 crash happened and as a young family we got pummeled so we gave it up due to cost . When our finances recovered some years later and we dared to venture back ....... Turns out it's not that nice after all . Your right , it's all in your head probably created by a lifetime of adverts and general brainwashing the average human has to face on a daily basis .