Major Stoke-on-Trent employer forced to close sites in bid to survive coronavirus crisis
Dominic Bowers, owner of Totally Delicious, revealed takings are down by 80 per cent
Laura WatsonBusiness Editor
Pictured: Dominic Bowers.
Site closures and 'high levels' of unpaid leave are just some of the measures a catering business has had to implement following the coronavirus outbreak.
Totally Delicious runs a number of successful sites across the UK including its flagship restaurant at Trentham Gardens, cafes at visitor attractions including Middleport Pottery and staff canteens at some of the area's biggest employers such as KMF, Portmeirion, Autonet and Steelite International.
Now company owner Dominic Bowers has revealed that three out of its 16 sites across the UK have already closed - with more expected to follow suit in the near future.
He added that takings at many of the public sites are down by around 80 per cent and are 30 per cent lower at its workplace sites.
Dominic said: "Since Boris made his recommendation on Monday about avoiding non-essential social contact we have been hit very hard.
Dominic Bowers is pictured here outside the Totally Delicious Restaurant at The Trentham Estate
"Takings at most public locations are down by around 80 per cent; the only site holding some level of sales is Trentham Gardens because having a walk around the lake is actually a great place to go when you are having to think about social distancing.
"We have reduced hours as much as possible at most of our sites but it is only a matter of time before a couple more close soon. We are literally running on staff levels of about one or two just to keep doors open."
He added: "All events have been postponed and inquiries dropped to zero. However we still have to plan for success beyond this chaotic period. We want to be optimistic about our future, so it is a time for mental toughness - not panic."
Dominic has reassured staff that the company is not looking to make any redundancies, but says that high levels of unpaid leave for restaurant workers 'is our only option.' Head office and senior staff are able to work remotely.
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He said: "We are going to support our staff as much as possible with information on how to gain help domestically with rents, loans and bills etc because at the moment we all just need to focus on putting food on the table and a roof over our heads. We will not see any of our Totally Delicious family suffer."
Earlier this week, chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that £330 billion will be made available for government-backed loans to help businesses through the coronavirus outbreak.
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But Dominic believes that the government needs to go further to support companies in crisis.
Dominic added: "The £330 billion all sounds good, but a loan just kicks the can up the street. We need grants and non-payment periods that do not add to the debt.
"The whole country needs to financially pause and reset. If the situation continues for more than three months then we will all have real issues that a blank cheque from Boris will not fix."
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