Pubs and restaurants have received tens of thousands of bookings ahead of the April reopening, leaving customers unable to get a table for weeks.
Fuller’s, (pictured in London) which has 400 pubs, said: ‘We are certainly taking a high level of bookings – people clearly can’t wait to get back to the pub, which is great to see.’
Diners are already looking forward to when establishments are allowed to reopen outdoor seating areas from April 12.
Bosses said their bookings have gone ‘gang busters’, with up to twice as many reservations as when they reopened in July last year.
Rick Stein said 20,000 customers had booked into its Cornish restaurants in the last two weeks alone, while D&D has reported taking 50,000 reservations already.
Some workers have even taken April 12, a Monday, off work so they can be the first through the doors of their local pub.
The news is a rare bright spot for the industry after it endured close to nine months of closures because of the virus.
More than 660,000 hospitality jobs disappeared in 2020 and the industry missed out on £71.8billion of sales.
The bookings revival also gives hope the UK’s economy will bounce back quickly as consumers unleash £180billion of cash they’ve saved during the pandemic.
Pubs, bars and restaurants spent £900million to make their venues Covid-safe last year, buying tents, tipis and fire pits to keep customers warm through winter.
Rules on putting tables on pavements have also been relaxed to allow restaurants to make the most of outdoor dining.
Rick Stein said 20,000 customers had booked into its Cornish restaurants (pictured in Padstow) in the last two weeks alone, while D&D has reported taking 50,000 reservations already
Des Gunewardena, owner of D&D, which has 42 restaurants, said: ‘We are absolutely chocker. Some of our restaurants are full all the way through April and well into May.
‘We have got double the level of bookings already compared to when we reopened on Super Saturday last year – it’s way strong than we expected.’
Clive Watson, chief executive of City Pub Group, which has 48 sites, said: ‘It’s gone gang busters. People are desperate to catch up with their friends.’
Andy Hornby, boss of Wagamamas and Frankie & Benny’s, said: ‘There is a real sense of pent-up demand and we have seen really strong interest in our beer gardens in particular.’
Fuller’s, which has 400 pubs, said: ‘We are certainly taking a high level of bookings – people clearly can’t wait to get back to the pub, which is great to see.’
Many restaurants and pubs will be unable to reopen until May 17 because they do not have enough outdoor seats, while others will only be able to open a small proportion of their premises.
For diners the reopening of restaurants will provide a break from home cooking and takeaways, which have boomed in lockdown.
Sales of food deliveries, takeaways and at home ‘meal kits’ were four times higher in February than the same month last year.
In total Britons placed 19.6 million orders in February alone, according to CGA data published yesterday.
Sunny Chandhoke, co-owner of Lotus Indian Kitchen in Derby, said he is ‘extremely happy’ with the amount of bookings for April.
Andy Hornby, boss of Wagamamas (pictured in Staines) and Frankie & Benny’s, said: ‘There is a real sense of pent-up demand and we have seen really strong interest in our beer gardens in particular’
He said: ‘We wouldn’t normally have a single soul sat outside in April but it looks like people are desperate to be out eating again. We only re-opened the bookings system a few days ago and it’s already shaping up very nicely.’
James Almond, whose family owns four pubs in the North West, said: ‘We’re expecting there to be a lot of bookings. We’re getting loads of enquiries.’
The rush of interest is also reflected in staycations with many rentals and hotel rooms already booked up for the peak summer months.
William Lees-Jones, who owns and runs 14 hotels in the North West and north Wales, said: ‘We’ve taken £1m worth of room bookings in our hotels from May through June, July and August.
‘You can’t get a room for love nor money on the north Wales coast in August. It’s because people are nervous about taking a holiday abroad. September is really strong – we don’t normally see that level of forward booking.’