How long did it take for you to decide to close the businesses?

I’d been contemplating it seriously for about 48 hours before the final decision was made. It’s not definitive. We are planning to reopen.

Are you already thinking differently about how the businesses will look and operate when you do reopen?

We can’t think differently until the shackles held on the hospitality industry by government significantly change.
There is way too much pressure on the employer to look after the employee with no support from the government.
It’s killing us.

How are you and your teams?

At this point, we’re ok. We made the decision so we could ease the pressure on all of us and we know we can work with that.
I’m encouraging the staff to use this time to invest in their mental and physical health. I’ve told my guys, “Get your body and your brain right. I’m here on the other side for you.”
We can’t save the world, but we can take measures to support our staff while we’re closed, we’re staying in touch with everyone, we’ll get together, we’re cooking together and we’ll make sure everyone is doing ok.
This isn’t scary, this is a massacre.
Take care everyone.