For thousands of small business owners, the global pandemic has flung their futures – and those of their staff – into uncertainty. That’s certainly true for Graham Blaikie, and his pub the Mercat Grill in Whitecraig, Scotland. “I’d been watching the news about Covid-19 since December and luckily we’d prepared,” he explains. “Even before we closed, we had contactless hand sanitisers and I was always wiping down handles and menus. I’d also removed items from tables, so there weren’t as many touch points.” But when Boris Johnson’s March announcement saw pubs and restaurants close to the public, the business that had taken Blaikie nine years to build was suddenly forced to adapt for survival.
The first step was ensuring customers could still enjoy the food they loved. “Prior to the shutdown, we’d been talking about what our strategy would be – I bought containers and had our takeaway menu prepped, so we were ahead of the game”, he says of being ready for business the next day. “We had a lot of fresh food in the pub, so on the Saturday we started the takeaway system.” But it wasn’t without its problems. “It’s not as easy as you think doing takeaway food, especially restaurant-style. When people order with us they’re having haggis cigars, patties, fish and chips, pepper beef with rice and my mum’s desserts ... that’s six different containers at least. We spent about £2,000 on takeaway boxes initially, that’s a lot of money. But it’s hopefully keeping us going.”
Despite making headway before the lockdown, it wasn’t until the national furlough scheme was announced that Blaikie could reassure staff their incomes were secure. “I always like to put myself in other people’s shoes, so that was a relief [when I heard about the support]. It’s quite difficult for me to get staff where I’m located – it’s not easy to get here if you don’t have your own transport. It’s taken me years to build a good team – 11 of us in total – who understand the way I operate. When these people disappear there’s a lot you’re losing – not just a member of staff, but knowledge and experience, too.”
With the government support package now in place – and extended until October – Blaikie has turned his attention to helping local people. Launching his Soup(er) Hero campaign in April, he is now making soup and sandwiches for those in need. With help from the community council, a community hub – where food is dropped off and distributed by local volunteers – was born. The feedback keeps him going. “There’s an older couple and the wife’s got cancer and every day they get their soup and sandwich,” he says. “They have the soup at 12 o’clock, then the man drives his wife to the hospital for her treatment and when they come back, they enjoy the sandwich. That’s what makes it worthwhile.”
It’s not just people benefiting, either – residents of Edinburgh zoo are also tucking into the pub’s surplus wares. “I had a massive box of bananas left over and my mum said: ‘You should take this to the zoo.’ So I got hold of all my leftover fruit and knocked on the zoo door – and that’s been it ever since.” Now Blaikie’s weekly deliveries of fruit, vegetables and fish help to feed the animals at a time when visitors – the zoo’s main form of income – have come to a standstill. “You’d probably choose not to eat some of the bananas, for example, because they don’t look as good, but they’re perfectly fine for the animals. When we’re making sandwiches, not everybody likes the heels of the bread either, so I freeze them and take them along – nothing’s getting wasted. And if I see something for a good price at the wholesalers – apples, cabbages, broccoli - I’ll pick that up, too. We need to keep zoos going, they’re all under a lot of pressure.”
While it’s difficult to ascertain when exactly businesses such as Blaikie’s will open again, for now, he is focusing on adapting the way they work to ensure business is possible. “We have an isolated table in the front vestibule area, so people can come in and collect food safely, using contactless on the card machines for takeaways. We have separate areas for drivers to sit in too, so we’re doing everything we can.” And plans are already afoot for when pubs are finally allowed to reopen. “I’m looking at adding an area to the outside, so people can sit there the whole year round and I’m hoping to put in a little microbrewery/distillery, so I could eventually make hand sanitiser further down the line.”
Why focus on helping others when keeping his own business afloat requires such effort? “I believe in helping people. I know this virus is a horrible thing, but it’s bringing out a lot of good in people as well. Neighbours are looking after neighbours, people are helping others with shopping or taking dogs for a walk. For so long, I didn’t like the way the world was going ...”
What does Blaikie hope will come out of this situation? He pauses, then says: “That people start to work together a bit more, being more thoughtful of what’s going on around them. And of course, that they come to the Mercat for a meal.”
The government furlough scheme: key facts
The UK government announced the employee scheme in March and has recently extended it until the end of October.
7.5 million workers and 1m businesses have been protected by the scheme across the UK.
Already the UK government has received claims for more than £10bn.
Workers across the UK now have the peace of mind that they can receive 80% of wages – up to £2,500 – until the end of October.
This is part of the multi-billion pound package of support and loans that the UK government is making available to workers and businesses all across the UK.
This advertiser content was paid for by the UK government. All in, all together is a government-backed initiative tasked with informing the UK about the Covid-19 pandemic.
