'We're 70 per cent down' - 18 Sheffield landlords lay bare devastation of coronavirus restrictions

Maurice Champeau, general manager of Crookes Social Club, asked the Sheffield Bartending Community Facebook group to share their situation - and the responses make for shocking reading.

Mr Champeau said his club was 73 per cent down last week, compared to the year before. And even worse was to come as the full tier two ‘high alert’ restrictions - which ban households from mixing indoors - kicked in.

He also said Christmas was ‘cancelled’ after every party, concert and the pantomime - which sells 450 tickets - were axed. Festive income keeps many pubs going through the lean months of January, February and March.

Meanwhile wages bills were up due to the requirement to offer table service.

Mr Champeau said the club had two options - borrow money from the bank, or - as a last resort - tap up the 760 members for emergency funding. The last time it had happened was during a financial crisis in 1974.

But other venues don’t have that option.

One landlord with a place on Ecclesall Road said they were 75 per cent down and it was ‘proper killing us’.

A gin bar boss said they were 75 per cent down and could just cover wages - before 90 per cent of bookings on Saturday night had cancelled.

A Kelham Island bar was 80 per cent down and they had five weeks’ finances left.

A Deepcar publican said they were at minus 75 per cent and had stopped taking a wage to pay staff. Another landlord said they were 80 per cent down and had lost £300,000 so far this year.

A Walkley venue boss said they were 80 per cent down, while a city centre publican said they were ‘at least 70 per cent down’, had lost half of staff, were opening on massively reduced hours and putting on ‘crazy offers’ just to get people through the door.

Mr Champeau said: “It won’t get better until there is a change in the regulations. I’m not denying the impacts of Covid, but hospitality is an easy target for the government. There is no science behind the restrictions and the curfew.

“If Sheffield stays in tier two we will see up to 40 per cent of venues closing for good. I’ve been in hospitality for 33 years and in the past during bad times there was always light at the end of the tunnel. But we’ve no idea when this is going to end.”

Sheffield politicians are pressing government for financial assistance in the form of a ‘local lockdown lifeline’.

City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis earlier said: “Our region faces an increasingly severe situation: we are treading an incredibly fine line to prevent more lives, jobs and businesses being lost, therefore reaching the right agreement is paramount.”

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