Party-goers attending a late-night live music restaurant will be able to have a Christmas celebration with a difference - starting earlier in the day.
The owners of Bistro Live are promising to pull out all the stops despite "lack of support and clarity" from the government.
Mark Henderson, director of Bistro Live said: “Nearly all late-night venues have had zero income since March, and whilst the furlough scheme helped us, we are now having to use our reserves to pay our people and keep the business afloat.
"Since March, we’ve had to contend with constantly changing rules and regulations, full lockdown for four months, only two households, no live entertainment and no dancing until the middle of September, the rule of six just recently, and to top it all off a 10pm curfew.
"And quite how the new Job Support Scheme with companies paying a member of staff 55% of their salary (with the government topping it up to 77%) for doing 33% of their normal hours is going to help businesses recover is quite beyond me.”
Despite all of this, Bistro Live is still determined to reopen on November 6, promising a great night out.
"It may be different to a usual Bistro Live night out, but it will give us the opportunity to showcase something a little different," they said.
The venue, in Barker Gate, will be opening at 6.30pm and running through until 10pm, with an array of solo artistes and duos booked for the festive period.
Instead of the usual ‘party-party’ vibe, the mood will be up-tempo acoustic, with three live sets throughout the evening.
Revellers will be served a freshly prepared three-course meal in a Covid-safe way with tables of six, 50% of the usual capacity, rigorous cleaning regimes in place and small bubbles of staff to limit interactions.
New for 2020 is a Live @ Lunch Christmas, from 12.30pm to 3.30pm - an alternative to the usual raucous Christmas party but still lots of fun.
Bistro Live director Fred Harlow said: "We’ve been working really hard over the last few weeks to come up with some brand new ideas, to ensure that we can operate in a safe but fun, social yet distanced way, and to get the venue ready for re-opening.
"The feedback we’ve had so far from our customers has been very supportive, so, as long as the government doesn't change the goalposts again, we’re looking forward to re-opening the business and doing what we do best – great food, great entertainment and a brilliant night out.”
For more details visit bistrolive.com or call 0115 947 3666.
