Warwick gin bar owner says more than half of his bookings have cancelled since the Prime Minister's live address to nation

The owner of a gin bar in Warwick has said that more than half their bookings have been cancelled since Prime Minister Boris Johnson's live address to nation this week.

Steve Bazell from That Gin and Cocktail Bar, which is in Swan Street, said that this week alone, he has been inundated with cancellations, including parties in his private function room, due to the recent headlines about the new Covid variant.

He also fears that those parties which do still go ahead will suffer from hugely depleted numbers due a percentage of guests being nervous about attending.

Steve added that up to 60 per cent of his business comes at Christmas and as a relatively new business, which opened earlier this year, this first Christmas he had a lot of hopes pinned on it to recoup what’s been lost over the past few months of impacted revenue in the ‘Covid climate.’

And, if the trend continues, he said he will be faced with refinancing the business to get through to Easter.

Steve said: “I understand that the Government is trying to balance letting us get on with life vs lockdown however at the moment we simply are losing trade we will never get back as December for most hospitality venues is the best month of the year.

"It will be a very challenging period just when we thought the worse was over.

“A busy December is the month which makes up for an inevitably quiet January and February in the hospitality business and this comes on the back of not being able to enjoy the fruits of a really good summer.

"We were hoping to be able to claw back some of what we lost this year by getting the footfall in the month when we really need it.”

Despite this, Steve is currently running a campaign to give back to the community called 'Just The Tonic' where one local person and their guests will be treated to a complimentary party in his private hire room worth more than £1,000.

Nominations were invited for people who have missed out on a special celebration due to lockdowns and/or adversity.

The finalists include people who have been dealing with loss, terminal illness, mental health challenges and children with learning disorders.