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It was a shred of good news for the restaurant industry recently, when lockdown restrictions were eased to allow them to open for sit-down service.

For a number of South Africans, the chance to go somewhere other than the office or home was also a welcome change.

If you were hoping to raise a glass and cheers whilst sharing a meal with someone, outside of your house, with a glass of wine, however, you would have been sorely disappointed.

One of the many rules and guidelines for resuming operations is a strict ban on selling alcohol, which, in accordance with current regulations, can only be sold during limited hours between Monday and Thursday, for home consumption

But, as restaurateurs have pointed out, this takes away from the full dining experience, and they’re concerned about the massive impact this will have on their ability to turn a profit.

As the Restaurant Collective (RIC) told BusinessTech, alcohol accounts for up to 70% of profit for a number of sit-down establishments.

The organisation conducted a survey to get a sense of where the industry was at the time of opening in terms of staff and revenue. Over half have had to cut staff by more than 50%.

To mitigate this problem, up revenue, and ensure that people don’t start using restaurants as surrogate bars, the RIC has proposed a solution.

First, hygiene and physical distancing protocols are already in place at all establishments open for business, in accordance with the government and the World Health Organisation’s directives.

Following on from that, here’s how they propose to resume selling alcohol:

1. Only beer and wine will be sold. These staple drinks should appease most South Africans who want to enjoy an alcoholic beverage with their meals.
2. Customers will only be able to buy alcohol between 12:30 AM and 9 PM, and only with meals.
3. No alcohol will be served after meals to discourage people from sitting around drinking once they’ve finished eating.
4. No one will be allowed to hang around the bar or stand while they’re drinking.
5. There will be no alcohol promotions (like buckets or beer or two-for-one specials) will be allowed.
6. No loud music or dancing will be allowed for obvious reasons – it’s a slippery slope to violations of physical distancing.

Visiting a restaurant can be risky during a pandemic, so it makes sense that the ban on alcohol, the consumption of which can impair judgement, was in place to start with as restaurants tested out their PPE and precautions.

Now that all of that is in place, the above suggestions seem like a well-thought-out solution to the problem, and could help mitigate the collapse of an industry that plays such a vital role in job creation, amongst other things.

[source:businesstech]