The Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) has urged the government to "take decisive action and force landlords to slash rent" during the COVID-19 crisis, with the association's CEO saying that landlords "need to take some pain" if the hospitality industry is to survive.
The RAI's assertions came in response to the news that the decision has been made to permanently close Bewley's café on Dublin's Grafton Street.
"A Wake-Up Call To The Government"
The Irish Independent quotes RAI CEO Adrian Cummins as saying, "You are going to have a domino fall of businesses that can't pay their rent, that won't be able to open, and I can't see 90% of restaurants opening up on June 29 unless drastic action is taken.
"This has to be a wake-up call to the government that if a company in hospitality like Bewley's can fall, what is going to happen in the future for smaller businesses who are having huge difficulty with landlords with no light at the end of the tunnel?
"Landlords are issuing 21-day notices and putting severe pressure on highly stressed businesses, and landlords are pushing for rent to be paid when businesses can't afford it."
© 2020 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
