Indoor dining return provides boost for town’s hospitality

The latest data shows customers were happy to pick up the bill, with hospitality spending in on the rise.

Banking firm Revolut analysed the data of its 4,000 customers in Warrington in the seven days to May 23 as they sat down inside restaurants and cafes for the first time this year.

Diners spent 26 per cent more over this period than they did in the previous week when only outdoor dining was permitted, with one bill coming to a hefty £589.69.

However, spending was still 27 per cent below a normal week in February last year before the pandemic began.

Spending in restaurants and cafes across Great Britain saw a larger fall of 41 per cent.

Si Pugsley of Friars Court ahead of welcoming customers indoors once more

Despite reopening, many establishments will be unable to have a full house until June 21, when all legal limits on social contact are due to be lifted in England.

However, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it is too early to say whether the easing of all restrictions will still go ahead as planned.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said: “Current restrictions severely reduce venue capacity, so restaurants’ ability to make money is constrained to well below pre-Covid levels.

“Many restaurants have been permanently lost as a result of the pandemic and there are others that, after months of closure and trading restrictions, have not yet reopened.

“A return to unrestricted trading on June 21 is critical and means hospitality businesses will come off life support and be viable for the first time in almost 16 months, enabling companies to bring more staff back.”

Last week also saw the reopening of many indoor entertainment and cultural venues, including museums, theatres and cinemas – though they too are operating at reduced capacity.

Cineworld in Time Square has reopened after lockdown was eased

Revolut data shows that spending on cultural activities such as cinema trips between May 17 and 23 was 68 per cent below a normal pre-pandemic week in Britain.

In Warrington however, spending was only 38 per cent down, with women aged between 55 and 64 being the biggest spenders in the area.

Overall, residents spent slightly more on all activities over this period than they did the week before, including a 24 per cent rise on transport expenditure.

The UK Cinema Association said the opening weekend was the first to see more than a million admissions since March 2020.

Chief executive Phil Clapp said: “Only around three-quarters of UK cinema sites are now open, with many smaller sites not able to do so viably given the limits that social distancing requirements impose on available capacity.

“The extraordinary number of sold-out screenings reported last weekend makes it self-evident that the sooner those restrictions are safe to relax, then the quicker the full recovery of the sector can happen.”