Restaurants are one of the many businesses who have suffered greatly during the pandemic and, unfortunately, many have been forced to close already and many more are facing huge financial pressure.
For those which survived, help is at hand with the government’s latest initiative, the ‘eat out to help out’ scheme, soon to be launched. So what’s it all about and who’s going to benefit?
To be a part of the scheme restaurants will need to register their businesses via the government website which, once registered entitles them to display a promotional sticker the same as the one used in the main photograph above – so it’s easy to see who’s taking part in the scheme and so you know where to book your table.
The scheme starts on August 3 and is available to be used all day, every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, until it finishes on August 31.
Fifty per cent discountÂ
It entitles all diners to a 50% discount, up to a maximum of £10 per person for food or non-alcoholic drinks to eat or drink in. There is no limit to how many times customers can use the offer during the period of the scheme, and they do not need to produce a voucher to qualify, just turn up and eat!
A discount is not available for someone who is not eating or drinking, but restaurants may choose to offer or include other deals or promotions if they wish so customers get extra benefits. So what can you do to help and support local businesses ?
You can speak, or better still visit, your favourite restaurant, ask them if they are taking part in the scheme, and ask them if they have registered their business yet. If not, they can go to the website to register.
Once they have registered they will be included in an online finder tool for people to use to search for participating establishments. They will then have access to a range of posters and promotional material which they can reproduce and print, plus images and digital files for use on their websites and social media channels.
These can all be used as often as required, they have all been professionally produced, are very ‘user friendly’ and best of all, free of charge.
Lockdown has been tough for everyone. In many cases families and relatives still haven’t been able to visit each other due to isolation. Birthdays, special anniversaries and celebrations have had to be cancelled or postponed and eating out has become a rare event until more recently.
Hopefully, though, things will continue to improve if we all play by the rules and use our common sense and, at last, there is something to look forward to.
If you are a restaurant owner and you would like Rye News to feature your business as part of the scheme, please get in touch and we will interview you, write an article to include photographs, and help you to secure more customers and promote your business, free of charge.
Image Credits: HM Government .
I believe this is a really good idea to help these businesses – after all they are part of what makes Rye such a wonderful place! However I do feel that they need to make sure that government guidelines are followed as we need to feel confident to go back to enjoy those special times again!