Harrogate restaurant suppliers anxiously await one metre update

The suppliers that provide Harrogate and Ripon’s restaurants with its meat, vegetables and dairy are hoping a government announcement on social distancing today will help kickstart their businesses.

JG Bellerby in Killinghall supplies several well-known restaurants in Harrogate with a range of produce — from fruit and veg to milk and cream.

But Luke Derbyshire of JG Bellerby told the Stray Ferret that it’s been a difficult few months.

He said:

“It’s been pretty rough, to be honest. Most of our customers were restaurants, hotels and cafes. Quite literally overnight that changed so we had to diversify with deliveries. But we’ve been hard hit, that’s for sure.”

With new social distancing guidelines for restaurants expected to be announced by the government tomorrow, Mr Derbyshire is hoping a relaxation of the two-metre rule will give his clients some confidence.

He added:

“It’s all very much up in the air with social distancing and it’s a difficult time. A lot of our customers are saying, ‘we’re a rural pub and with the two-metre rule we can’t justify opening’.

Mr Derbyshire suggested that due to a fear over catching coronavirus the “new normal” could spell the end of some familiar eating-out traditions.

“Some [restaurants] are starting to re-emerge but volume-wise it’s not what it was. I think we’ll be back by the end of the year, but the effects will go on a lot longer.

“Will still people want to eat out? Are the days of the Sunday dinner at the pub gone? Will people risk it?”

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Marleys butchers in Ripon supply every restaurant in the city with meat as well as several in Harrogate.

Wayne Morgan from Marleys told the Stray Ferret that several restaurants have told them that with social distancing it may not be worth re-opening until they are allowed to be at full capacity.

The announcement on restaurants will have big implications for businesses like Marleys and Mr Morgan said the butchers is anxiously awaiting fresh guidance.

“We’re going to wait until they change it to one metre, then we’ll call out restaurants and have a chat with them.”

Like JG Bellerby, Marleys has relied on home deliveries to bring in some crucial revenue whilst restaurants have been closed.

Mr Morgan added:

“It hasn’t worked out so bad for us. A house isn’t as big as a restaurant but at least we had something to fall back on.”