We are just days away from the hugely popular government scheme Eat Out to Help Out ending.
Having launched on August 3, the initiative has helped businesses impacted by the coronavirus crisis by offering them the chance to dine in with 50 per cent off menu prices.
Under the scheme, registered establishments can then claim the money back from the government.
But the discount applies only from Monday to Wednesday in August, and is due to end on Bank Holiday Monday [August 31, 2020].
And it looks like, despite calls for it to be extended, that it will not be extended.
According to Birmingham Live, a Treasury spokesman said: "Part of this popularity is precisely because it is a time-limited scheme - this reminds and encourages people to safely return to going out."
It said the scheme "complements a wider package of hospitality support that goes beyond August, including cutting VAT to 5%, paying the wages of furloughed staff, business rates relief and billions in tax deferrals and loans".
It comes following calls from business leaders who have urged the government to extend the scheme.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)'s national chair Mike Cherry said: "The Eat Out to Help Out scheme has been an overwhelming success in getting people back on their high streets and in their town centres.
"We now need to see it extended to continue the critical support that it is providing for small firms as we enter a period of economic make or break.
"Over the past few weeks, the scheme has been hugely welcomed by small businesses and their customers alike.
"A nationwide one-month extension would go some way to helping many firms which are still only just about managing in this time of crisis.
"More than 35 million meals have been cooked and dished out across almost 50,000 restaurants and cafes who have been able to reap the rewards of this great initiative, but as we enter September with schools reopening and more people going back to their places of work, there are still strong merits to continuing this for one more month."
The FSB said that after September the scheme should be "reactivated" in areas that have gone through local lockdowns.
