The indies are coming – restaurants set to benefit after pandemic ‘shockwave’

A director of one of Nottingham’s most popular restaurants says the lockdown has pressed the reset button on the entire hospitality industry – and new independent operators could be the ones to reap the rewards.

Daniel Griffiths, who operates Annie’s Burger Shack alongside business owner Annie Spaziano, says that the pandemic “sent a shock-wave” through the UK’s hospitality sector, with the successive lockdowns sending a whole host of large and small name operators to the wall.

One of the worst affected places in the whole country was Nottingham, which has suffered a 12% drop in the numbers of restaurants compared to the pre-pandemic days of March 2020, according to the Local Data Company (LDC).

Among the outlets to have closed their doors for good are well-known brands such as Carluccio’s, Byron Burger and Frankie and Benny’s, all of which were hit hard by the pandemic.

Those closures have left a number of premises across the city empty, and, with lockdown over, Griffiths said in certain cities, particularly those with lower numbers of independent operators, this presents an opportunity for any independent operator seeking to set up their own restaurant or café.

Not only are many of the sites in sought-after, prominent high-footfall locations, they also benefit from having catering equipment and seating already in place.

Landlords will also be more open to offers from prospective tenants so, as long as they are not fussy about using someone else’s décor, new owners can be up and running within just a few weeks.

And this, says Griffiths, could usher in a whole host of new names, exciting dishes and innovative dining concepts.

Griffiths said: “It’s very noticeable that the big brands owned by private equity firms were among the first to go, because their business models weren’t able to withstand the shock wave of the pandemic and lockdowns.

“What you’re left with are premises in the kind of excellent high street locations that independent operators would never have been able to rent or fit-out because they didn’t have the capital behind them and the landlords shunned them.

“Now the situation is different because there is a surplus of these sites, all of which will still have all of the expensive equipment and fittings they need because they were literally abandoned.

“Landlords will be paying the business rates on these places, so they’ll want to get someone in as soon as possible. They’ll be happy for someone to come in and get up and running within a matter of weeks, and I think this will mean we’ll be seeing lots of new faces, new ideas and some great and interesting food we may not have seen before.”

Griffiths said that Annie’s Burger Shack, which operates a restaurant in Broad Street as well as a branch in Derby, survived the pandemic thanks to a combination of planning, the ability to switch to a home delivery model and the Eat Out to Help Out scheme of summer 2020, when restaurants were allowed to open to customers for discount dining.

Griffiths added: “The pandemic was extremely tough going and now people’s habits and expectations have changed, while we are also facing stark price rises, so there are still very many challenges.

“Nottingham is a wonderful dining city but everybody in our industry relies heavily on its city centre workers, so it’s heartening to see them returning to their offices.”