Local coffee shop reopening as takeaway

[wedwoses]

There's been an announcement on a local FB page about the above. Most people seem supportive but a few people are stridently anti, arguing that takeaway coffee isn't essential etc. I've looked at the regulations and they seem to allow food and drink (which I presume must include coffee) to be both delivered and provided takeaway or through collection, the government even relaxed planning rules to allow this and explicitly stated that this could be a new activity by a business even if it hadn't done it before, and nowhere in the regulations does it actually use the word "essential" as a test of what is/is not permitted. AIBU to think that if this small business (definitely not a chain) wants to do this and abides by the stringent social distancing rules, then that is just as acceptable as any other food or drink business providing a takeaway service?

Good on them! I really admire those adapting to try and make a living and save their small businesses from going under. Personally it lifts my spirits to see places open & I’m doing my best to support our small local business that are opening for takeaway at the moment.

The puritans really boil my piss right now. Lets look at what else isn't "essential". Oh look - they didn't have electricity in the Middle Ages and still managed to live.

Fuck that. I welcome any safe economic activity.

Would you prefer all these cafes, pubs etc to go bankrupt instead OP? FFS

It’s a 2m rule where possible. Many places can’t. They will still be open

Good on these businesses for keeping going,I will certainly be supporting the businesses who have stayed open going forward.
Some people are so negative,there are enough rules without people making up new ones

The ones moaning about it can quite frankly go fuck themselves. They are not the ones stuck with ££££ rent on premises the coffee shop needs to be able to afford🤷🏻

@TheProdigalKittensReturn

Right? It is the same with the ‘guidelines’. You have to interpret them to suit your own circumstances. Some people are higher risk than others due to a multitude of factors - travel patterns, housing type, job type, underlying conditions or no, rural or urban.. it’s impossible to cover all eventualities in a set of guidelines, let alone a three word slogan, so of course the headline message is crude. But some people seem to think the headline message IS the message!! A lack of critical thinking .

It's fine. Keeping their business going as best they can while being safe.

Do people realise that there are actually very few mandatory powers in the underlying legislation? It’s drafted very loosely. Sanctions are unlikely to be enforceable except in cases of very clear and flagrant breaches.

PS I am actually very jealous of folk able to go out and mix , buy takeaway etc. Wish we could!

I'd say the risk of a take away coffee is low. As long as the staff making the coffee can socially distance then it seems a reasonable option to keep a small business afloat.

Unless we get some sort of miracle then this virus isn't going away for quite some time. We need to learn how to go about daily life as safely as we can. Take away coffee is just one part of that.

It’s definitely allowed provided social distancing is in place with people ordering and collecting items.

Lots of places have started doing this in NZ now that our lockdown has relaxed a little, and it's proving popular.

We need as many businesses to survive as possible. Those that adapt are far more likely to survive. They keep the supply chains going and keep jobs further down the chain.

The virus spreads less effectively in warmer weather conditions and outside, so it is much lower risk than we faced at the end of the flu season, crowded indoors together.

I know what the pp meant about feeling guilty for the staff but the flip side is that those people will probably be on extremely low wages and, should the business fold, will be out of jobs. They could be furloughed but 80% of minimum wage could be a disaster for them.

I think those of us who are in relative positions of privilege should be helping out those of us who really need to keep working to allow the businesses to survive. Buying stuff from small local businesses, sharing the fuck out of what we buy on fb to encourage other people to buy it etc.

Obviously this comes with the warning that the businesses should be minimising risks for the staff, observing distancing etc. I accept that some employers are twats and some people will be exploited and we have no way of knowing which.

Lots of people being very spiteful about others trying to save their businesses whilst staying within the lockdown rules. Lots of takeaways and cafes providing takeaway services round here, and I use them hoping to contribute to them not losing their businesses after this is over.

Loadsof places are doing take aways now you can go for a sandwhich and a coffee on your "daily walk" if that is what you want to do.

Our chip shop re openedthis week apparently it was queued down the street ,

Those that are complaining need to realise that there’s nothin saying they have to visit such an establishment. Just keep away if you’re worried about it being dangerous. I imagine the general riskiness of it being there for takeaway only is extremely low. I hope the staff they have are willing to work, I’d take a bet they’re very grateful

My friend runs a cafe and they have been open throughout lockdown for takeaway, and they have started to do local delivery too. I think the village have been pretty supportive of this, I know she has been very busy! She employs her mum to work with her in the cafe, her mum has moved in with her for the duration of lockdown so no mixing of households. I think lots of small businesses are family run so can do the same.
Places like Costa coffee employ large numbers of part time staff and don't have much space behind the counter, so it's not surprising that they have remained closed.

@fascinated

There seems to be a distinct lack of thinking though what the guidelines are meant to accomplish, which will usually answer "is what I'm thinking of doing a good idea" type questions.

There are loads of places near me doing this. Yes it's not essential but having a take away coffee now and then feels like a luxury now and id hate all the independent coffee shops to go under how sad that would be for the little Broadway where I live.

I'm off to local independent coffee shop at the end of a 6k walk for the third time in 3 days today with DD2 for cakes and coffee
It feels like such a treat. All socially distanced.
It'll be about £8 and I think we should support small business as much as we can at the moment.

Lots of independent places by me started doing takeway/delivery at the start and then closed, have now all reopened again. And many of the restaurants have now reopened for collection/delivery. For many it's because they haven't yet had any Government grants that small businesses were promised, and only have a three month holiday mortgages/rent, so they need some income.

The local pie shop, which only opened just before lockdown reopened last Friday and had to announce that they'd be closed on the Saturday as they'd sold two days worth of pies in 4 hours, all 500 of them! People really want to support local businesses as we want them to still be here when this is over.

Plenty of cafes are doing this where I live and some are asking for donations to help pay for NHS workers meals and coffee. In fact one had raised enough to provide lunch for a local hospitals ward staff.

Quite a few are doing this and it's a matter of survival.I wouldn't want to use their services at present as my area has had few cases and I think we're behind the curve.
Our main streets are filled with charity shops and coffee shops. Many of the coffee shops will be a casualty of covid-19 but the ones who reconnected earlier with their customers may have an advantage.