‘We can’t wait to be back’
They say the first year in business is always the hardest but things had been going pretty well for David Quirke and his wife Denise Buckley since they opened the Wholesome Kitchen restaurant in Mullingar in August last year. That is, of course, until March 15 when they shut due to the coronavirus.
More than six weeks later and Wholesome Kitchen and thousands of other restaurants around the country remain closed. According to reports in the national media last week, it will be mid-summer at the earliest when the government gives restaurants the go-ahead to re-open to diners.
However, that, and other easing of restrictions are dependent on the coronavirus numbers continuing to go in the right direction.
Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, David said that he was not surprised by the reported timeframe for the reopening of restaurants. “I do think there’s a long-term plan needed to manage the crisis. I think if we don’t all work together on this there could be a second and third wave, which could be a lot worse for people and the economy in the long run.”
When restaurants reopen, many will have to radically alter their seating arrangements to adhere to social distance guidelines that are sure to be with us until a vaccine or effective treatments for Covid-19 are found. David says that Wholesome Kitchen has already implemented many of the necessary modifications.
“We made a lot of changes prior to closing and also since we’ve closed. With some of these, of course we’ve had to remove some tables – however we’re in a lucky position of having a number of private booths and tables. I’m confident that when we do re-open we’ll operate to the safest standards. There’s no doubt that business is going to be massively impacted with restrictions in place in the medium term.”
David says the government acted promptly at the start of the crisis to provide a range of supports for businesses and employees, but more needs to be done now to prepare for the return of normal economic activity.
“I’ve found the support from our Local Enterprise Office absolutely amazing since launching the business and especially during this crisis. They’ve been very supportive specifically with grants, training and mentoring. I’d highly recommend any business to reach out to them. The government reacted fast with the Covid payment scheme, a massive help to employees and businesses. However urgent support is needed for small businesses in terms of grants, interest free loans, 0% VAT rates, rental supports, commercial rates write-off, wages supports. SMEs account for 65% of all employees in Ireland and if we don’t look after them, it will be devastating for people and the economy.
The doors of Wholesome Kitchen are closed, but David has been busy with a number of new projects. Despite the setbacks of the past few months, he’s hopeful for the future.
“We plan to re-open for takeaways for delivery, collection and catering over the coming weeks, when it’s more safe to do so. We’ve also been working hard on launching our second business, healthy meal plans that can be delivered anywhere in Ireland, which we’ll be launching over the coming weeks.”