The first day that the hospitality industry in Eindhoven reopened to the public, went satisfactorily.
That’s what Tom van Brussel, from the Stratumseind business association and owner of Café ‘t Lempke, says. “We are very satisfied. It was busy but not too busy. The terraces were full but people could give each other space”.
It was a bit awkward, says the manager. “Of course, things are a little different from normal. You have to ask every guest if they are healthy, while of course no one goes to the terrace and then says he is very sick”.
Because of the orderly course of the day, there are no problems. That doesn’t mean they can’t arise later on. “There were a lot of people who made reservations, but we also kept a number of places available for people who want to look for a seat on the spot. Yesterday that didn’t cause any problems but I can imagine when more people are going to do that, that keeping a distance will be a bit more difficult”.
From cafe to cafe
In that respect, we’ll have to wait and see how the weekend goes. “In terms of visitor turnover, yesterday was actually a Sunday. When in the weekend, Friday evening and Saturday more people want to visit a restaurant or cafe and you get a queue of people waiting for a table to become available, it can be imagined that keeping a distance becomes a bit more difficult. Especially when people walk from café to café to see if there is still a table available somewhere. But we won’t know how that’s going to go until next weekend”.
Nevertheless, the hospitality entrepreneur is happy that he and his staff could get back to work. “Everyone felt like starting again”, Van Brussel says, “entrepreneurs, staff but also the guests. It was a very good day for that reason alone”.
Source: www.studio040.nl
Translated by: Bob
