'Sales went berserk!' Eat out scheme serves much-needed help to hard-hit restaurants

Monday to Wednesday is the new weekend according to the restaurant trade after sales went “berserk” during the first week of the government’s discount dining scheme.

They are typically the quietest days of the week, when some venues opt to stay closed, but the pull of a cut-price meal has turned the restaurant trade upside down this week as the “eat out to help out” scheme tempted Britons out in their droves.

In some cases, for the first time since lockdown restrictions were eased last month, queues could be seen outside restaurants and cafes all over the country. Of the adults who left their homes this week, one in five visited a café, pub or restaurant, according to official figures, which compared with one in 10 three weeks ago.

Related: 'Eat out to help out': incentive tempts diners out in Soho

More than 72,000 establishments have signed up to the scheme, ranging from independents to mainstream chains and Michelin-starred restaurants.

The initiative, which is being subsidised by the taxpayer to the tune of £500m, is a gamble by the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, desperate to resurrect the devastated hospitality industry as he weans businesses off the furlough scheme. Hospitality firms furloughed 1.4 million workers, more than any other sector of the economy.

The number of diners visiting Franco Manca’s pizzerias had been increasing slowly since it reopened in July, but sales were still running below 2019 levels, says David Page, who chairs Fulham Shore, owner of the chain. But all that changed on Monday.

“It’s all gone completely berserk since then,” said Page, adding that over the three days Franco Manca banked 130% of normal sales while The Real Greek managed 148%. The company has now reinstated nearly all of its 700 furloughed staff.

Related: How will the Eat out to help out scheme work for me?

“I thought the scheme would be a positive but I didn’t know what kind of effect it would have,” said Page. “People are getting a margarita pizza for £3.40 at our place. It was only £6.80 before. Obviously, it makes a difference, if people think they are getting things half-price they will come out.”

The scheme offers diners 50% off meals eaten in the establishment on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday during August with the discount capped at £10 per head. Businesses are then reimbursed by the Treasury.

The pub chain JD Wetherspoon, which has plastered pictures of “Dishi Rishi” all over special menus dedicated to the meal deal, said the first week had “provided a strong boost to food sales in a beleaguered industry”.

“It has undoubtedly boosted confidence, and confidence equals sales for publicans and restaurateurs, especially now,” said its chairman, Tim Martin. “I don’t think higher trade made social distancing harder per se, but it creates queues which are an inconvenience rather than a risk. Although you could though take an extreme view that any increase in trade increases risk, however marginally.”

The Restaurant Group, which owns the Wagamama and Frankie & Benny’s chains said around half of its 400 restaurants were open and taking part. “We have seen a very strong customer response to the scheme, but we are not complacent and the real proof of the pudding will be when the scheme finishes at the end of August.”

It is estimated that around half of the UK’s 30,900 restaurants are still closed (the 130,000 businesses targeted by the discount dining scheme also includes pubs, bars, in-store cafes and fast-food outlets) and there is a question mark as to how many will eventually reopen amid a wave of closures announced by casual dining chains. This week Pizza Express became the latest high-street brand to say it was closing up to 70 sites as part of a financial restructuring.

Restaurants traditionally make all of their profit from Thursday to Sunday but this pattern has been disrupted by social distancing, which has forced operators to operate a reduced number of covers.

However, while businesses welcomed the boost to trade, health professionals expressed concern that the initiative risks undermining efforts to eradicate the virus. In Scotland, the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has not ruled out closing pubs and restaurants again after an outbreak in Aberdeen prompted lockdown restrictions to be reimposed on the city.

“As long as we get mixed messages from the government about what is and isn’t safe, it’s difficult for people to understand those risks, and therefore be able to treat them accordingly,” said Dr David Strain, senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter who advises customers to dine al fresco and urges people to be vigilant about physical distancing.

“If [eating out] can be done safely it is a good thing. I can fully appreciate what the chancellor is doing and why he’s doing it. I am nervous that we’re going to see rates start to climb. For me and my family, if we were to go out next week we would go somewhere where it was outdoors, appropriately spaced and where we felt confident that the staff were using the necessary hygiene measures.”