Harrogate restaurants and pubs call for 'crucial' continued support as Eat Out to Help Out ends next week

Diners flocked back in droves when the discount scheme launched at the start of August to give customers the confidence to go out again, but businesses now say that support must be sustained to help them stay afloat and avoid a fresh downturn in the coming months.

And there are also calls for the £350m meal subsidy to be extended in quieter months when trade is traditionally slow.

Rick Jones, owner of Valentino’s in Ripon, said his Italian restaurant saw a surge of customers when it reopened last month and that the scheme could have been more beneficial later in the year.

He said: "It definitely has been a welcome boost not just for restaurants, but for customers as well because they get some money off.

"But I just feel it would have been more welcome in the quieter months in October, November and even into January.

"We were already shut for refurbishment during lockdown so we expected it to be very busy and it has been. The other night we had almost 150 missed calls, so we just can't keep on top of reservations."

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Sara Ferguson, who owns Italian restaurant Sasso in Harrogate and is also the acting chair of Harrogate BID, hailed the scheme as a vital boost to the struggling hospitality industry and said the coming months will be crucial to ensure firms can stay open.

"We are really grateful to everyone who has visited us this month," she said.

"It has been great to offer this discount to regulars and also to welcome new diners who feel that this has given them the opportunity to try us out.

"There is of course a lot of uncertainty going forward, for everyone, so we really hope that diners will continue to support us in the coming months."

Eat Out to Help Out gives diners a 50 per cent discount on food and soft drinks up to a maximum of £10 per head from Monday to Wednesday during August, with the government picking up the tab.

According to the Office for National Statistics, more than one in 10 adults have already taken advantage of the discount.

The calls for the scheme to be extended come as some restaurants have vowed to continue offering their own discounts, regardless of whether they get state support.

The last chance for diners to take advantage of the scheme - unless an extension is announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak - will be Monday, August 31.

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Tony Robb, landlord of The Mother Shipton Inn in Knaresborough, thanked his customers for their "brilliant" support and said he hoped to see them return beyond the scheme's closing date.

"We've been so busy with people booking weeks in advance and everyday the scheme has run we've pretty much been fully booked," he said.

"It has been quite humbling to see that support from locals and hopefully it will continue."

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones added: "The Chancellor's Eat Out to Help Out scheme has been a huge success giving a shot in the arm to the café and restaurant trade just when it needed it.

“Now that people have seen that managers and staff have done an amazing job to ensure that cafes and restaurants can re-open safely I want them to get back into the habit of eating out.

"I have said on many occasions that we all need to support our local economy by spending in it. If we do that then our local economy will thrive."

By Jacob Webster, Local Democracy Reporter