'Thank you Mr President for not shutting us down, but we need more support!'

Loadshedding is another blow to the struggling restaurant industry. We need more relief says Grace Harding (Restaurant Collective)

It's been blow after blow for a restaurant and hospitality industry that is struggling to survive the Covid-19 pandemic.

The curfew and alcohol sale ban limit serving hours and customer numbers.

Consumers are also becoming anxious says Grace Harding, spokesperson for lobby group The Restaurant Collective and CEO of Ocean Basket.

Now intermittent load shedding has been added to the mix.

Bruce Whitfield talks to Harding on The Money Show.

Towards the end of last year things did start to look "a little bit normal" she says, but optimism was obviously cut short.

Although we were basking in a little bit of positivity we did see the second wave coming, but we didn't think it would come so soon... and it has absolutely decimated the restaurant business.

Grace Harding, The Restaurant Collective spokesperson and Ocean Basket CEO

It's a number of things. It's not only alcohol - the consumer is definitely more anxious. I think most restaurants are truly being vigilant with sanitizing etcetera, but we are living in a pandemic and the true solution is a vaccine.

Grace Harding, The Restaurant Collective spokesperson and Ocean Basket CEO

She believes government has been fair to restaurants this time around, but emphasizes that the issue of financial relief must be revisited.

When the president spoke I couldn't breathe and when I saw he hadn't shut us down there was a lot of relief... There's a lot of blood on the floor, but for both Covid and business reasons.

Grace Harding, The Restaurant Collective spokesperson and Ocean Basket CEO

They've got to re-look Ters and UIF... Some of the other countries have closed restaurants down for a month or so, but they have the infrastructure in the country to keep everyone going.

Grace Harding, The Restaurant Collective spokesperson and Ocean Basket CEO

We really need support from the government because there are just more and people that will go hungry.

Grace Harding, The Restaurant Collective spokesperson and Ocean Basket CEO

Listen to the conversation on The Money Show:

This article first appeared on 702 : 'Thank you Mr President for not shutting us down, but we need more support!'

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