Hundreds of bookings flood in for Southsea restaurant after lockdown end date is announced

HUNDREDS of customers have been booking tables at a Southsea restaurant since it was announced that restrictions will be relaxed later this year.
By Kimberley Barber
Published 3rd Mar 2021, 16:26 BST
Updated 3rd Mar 2021, 16:27 BST
Staff from restaurant and hotel, Becketts, in Bellevue Terrace, Southsea. Pictured is: (back l-r) Jack Sencherey-Evans, head chef, Ben Taylor-Smith, junior sous chef and Charlie Akehurst, chef de partie, with (front l-r) Kealan Blenkinsop, assistant manager, Soraya Parker, owner, and Terence Carvalho, general manager, outside the venue. Picture: Sarah Standing (110820-2573)Staff from restaurant and hotel, Becketts, in Bellevue Terrace, Southsea. Pictured is: (back l-r) Jack Sencherey-Evans, head chef, Ben Taylor-Smith, junior sous chef and Charlie Akehurst, chef de partie, with (front l-r) Kealan Blenkinsop, assistant manager, Soraya Parker, owner, and Terence Carvalho, general manager, outside the venue. Picture: Sarah Standing (110820-2573)
Staff from restaurant and hotel, Becketts, in Bellevue Terrace, Southsea. Pictured is: (back l-r) Jack Sencherey-Evans, head chef, Ben Taylor-Smith, junior sous chef and Charlie Akehurst, chef de partie, with (front l-r) Kealan Blenkinsop, assistant manager, Soraya Parker, owner, and Terence Carvalho, general manager, outside the venue. Picture: Sarah Standing (110820-2573)

The team at Becketts, in Bellevue Terrace, said it has already seen around 500 enquiries about bookings after prime minister Boris Johnson laid out his ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown last week.

Under the new rules, restaurants and the majority of the hospitality industry should reopen for dine-in services on May 17.

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General manager Terence Carvalho said: ‘These enquiries are just through email and social media. Obviously, there’s no one in the restaurant at the moment manning the phone to take calls, so who knows how many phone calls we’ve had from people trying to book.

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‘We knew we’d have people wanting to book in, but to have had so many enquiries in such a short space of time feels great and it’s exciting to have a plan for when we get back to it and we feel so grateful knowing the restaurant is going to be full and we’ll be busy when we return.’

The restaurant has been closed since December 18.

Beckett’s owner, Soraya Parker, said that the boom in business has given the team some optimism.

She said: ‘As a business, we were very reactive to the ever-changing Covid guidelines set out for our industry. Our management team were well informed and regular staff training meant that all our staff felt very equipped to deal with any customer questions or demands.

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‘Becketts is resilient and we always face challenges head-on with a positive attitude. You get knocked down; you get back up again.

‘Being closed for what will be nine months in total has given us a very clear focus on what direction we want to take the business in, regarding our food offering, service, guest experience and awards.

‘Our team is absolutely buzzing to be able to return to work in 12 weeks’ time, and to be giving the people of Portsmouth the best hospitality experience in town.

‘We are so grateful for the amazing support, feedback and overwhelming number of bookings we have received during this lockdown.’

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