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London restaurants fret as going out goes out of style

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LONDON (Reuters) – Restaurants might have reopened, but the owner of Etta’s Seafood Kitchen in London’s Brixton Village market fears the prolonged COVID-19 lockdown may have changed customer behaviour for good.

Trepidation among consumers in England since the hospitality sector reopened on July 4 has seen many owners wonder whether they will go out of business before the punters come back.

“I think people’s habits have changed. I think a lot of people as well are cooking more at home. And I just think, you know, everyone is still a little bit scared because I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen,” Etta Burrell, owner of the seafood kitchen, told Reuters.

“It’s quite affecting us at the moment. It’s worrying, put it that way.”

Brixton Village is usually bustling with people eating out, especially at the weekend. But with social distancing restricting customer numbers at peak times, business owners need to fill more tables earlier in the week.

And there is little sign of that happening, despite the exhortations of Prime Minister Boris Johnson for people to get out, spend, and “enjoy summer safely”.

It is too early for much data on footfall in restaurants and bars since they were allowed to reopen.

The latest weekly British Retail Consortium bulletin, which captures July 4 but no later, shows UK footfall posted the smallest week-on-week rise for any day that week when lockdown was eased.

Burrell said she had 30% of the customers at the weekend, compared to the same time last year, but just 7% of the business on a Tuesday night.

It is perhaps unsurprising that consumers are cautious. A poll by Opinium on the day restrictions were lifted showed 52% of people believed pubs, bars and restaurants were reopening too soon. Only 24% thought it was the right time.

Overcapacity

The casual dining sector had been suffering from overcapacity even before the pandemic shuttered businesses and slashed footfall in London’s busiest work districts.

High-street fixtures like Carluccios and the owner of Bella Italia and Cafe Rouge have entered administration since the pandemic began.

In a bid to get more people through restaurant doors at off-peak times, the government has launched a $625-million “Eat out to help out” discount scheme, offering half-priced meals from Monday to Wednesday in August.

On Wednesday, a cut to sales tax to 5% from 20% for eat-in or hot takeaway food from restaurants, cafes and pubs also came into effect.

Brian Danclair, owner of Caribbean restaurant Fish, Wings and Tings, said while it was empty on a quiet Tuesday night after the excitement of the first week of reopening, he was confident government measures would help customers come back.

“We’re going to sign up for it because I think it’s a really good initiative,” he said of the discount scheme. “And that should help bring the consumers’ confidence back.”

Office for National Statistics data on Thursday showed fewer British workers lost their jobs in June and there were other signs that the hit to the labour market had eased off since the onset of the coronavirus crisis, but economists said unemployment remained on course to jump.

Reporting and photo: Reuters

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Feydhoo Hall opens at dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives as new event space

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Dusit International, one of Thailand’s leading hotel and property development companies, has announced the opening of Feydhoo Hall, a landmark event venue at dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives, redefining the possibilities for meetings, celebrations, and destination events in the Maldives.

Designed to bring scale, flexibility, and creativity to island gatherings, Feydhoo Hall represents a bold step forward in positioning the Maldives as a dynamic destination for conferences, weddings, and large-scale social occasions.

Feydhoo Hall offers a versatile event complex designed to accommodate a wide range of gatherings, from corporate meetings and conferences to weddings and social celebrations.

At its core is the 390 sqm Main Hall, capable of hosting:

  • Up to 300 guests in theatre-style setup
  • Up to 240 guests for dining and banquet-style events
  • Up to 200 guests for cocktail-style receptions
  • Up to 144 guests in cluster-round configuration

Enhancing the flexibility of the venue are additional dedicated spaces, including:

  • A 110 sqm Veranda Terrace, ideal for welcome receptions, breakout sessions, and pre-event gatherings, accommodating up to 100 guests for cocktail-style events.
  • A spacious 1,000 sqm Lawn Space, perfect for large-scale outdoor celebrations, destination weddings, and open-air events, accommodating up to 400 guests for cocktail receptions and up to 350 guests for dining setups.
  • The 55 sqm Ekugai Meeting Room, designed for smaller meetings and executive sessions, accommodating up to 30 guests in theatre or dining setup and 24 guests in cluster-round format.

Together, these integrated spaces create a seamless indoor-outdoor event experience, allowing planners to design dynamic and personalised event journeys.

True to the dusitD2 brand’s lifestyle-driven philosophy, Feydhoo Hall introduces a fresh approach to meetings and events — where productivity meets creativity in an inspiring island setting.

The venue offers flexible meeting formats designed to suit different event needs, including:

  • Half-Day Meeting Package (4 hours) — ideal for focused sessions, executive meetings, and creative workshops.
  • Full-Day Meeting Package (8 hours) — designed for immersive conferences, extended workshops, and large-scale corporate gatherings.

These thoughtfully structured packages provide planners with the flexibility to create impactful and seamless experiences, whether hosting intimate strategy sessions or dynamic full-day events.

Located just seven minutes by speedboat from Velana International Airport, dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives combines accessibility with vibrant lifestyle energy, offering event planners and guests a rare balance between convenience and tropical escape.

With the introduction of Feydhoo Hall, the resort strengthens its position as a versatile destination — not only for leisure travellers but also for international conferences, creative retreats, luxury weddings, and large-scale social celebrations seeking something refreshingly different in the Maldives.

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BBM expands retail presence with new Hulhumalé outlet

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Bestbuy Maldives (BBM) opened a new wholesale store in Hulhumalé Phase 2 on Monday.

The outlet is located on the ground floor of Lot 20286, Nirolhu Magu, and is intended to improve access to BBM’s imported goods for residents of Hulhumalé Phase 2 and for businesses operating in the area.

According to the company, the opening forms part of its plan to expand services closer to customers in line with population growth in Hulhumalé.

With the opening of the new store, BBM’s full range of imported and distributed products will be available at the Hulhumalé Phase 2 location. These include consumer goods from international brands such as Lifebuoy, Vaseline and Unilever.

The store will also stock wholesale food products from brands including Daily, Cavin’s and Redman.

BBM has supplied goods to resorts, hotels and retail outlets across the Maldives for several years.

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Ataraxis Grand & Spa hosts integrated work-and-dive corporate retreat in Fuvahmulah

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Ataraxis Grand & Spa recently hosted a week-long, closed corporate offsite in Fuvahmulah for a US-based artificial intelligence company, highlighting the island’s growing suitability for integrated work-and-experience retreats. The retreat brought a group of 36 international professionals to the property, which was reserved exclusively for the programme.

Designed as a private company offsite, the stay combined structured daily work sessions with guided diving and beginner-friendly surf experiences, creating a balanced format that blended focused collaboration with physical reset.

A notable component of the programme was dive training and certification. During the retreat, 17 participants completed their Open Water certification, while a further six undertook the Advanced Open Water course, with training and dives scheduled alongside work sessions as part of the integrated itinerary.

Throughout the week, participants worked on-site using dedicated shared spaces supported by reliable high-speed internet, allowing meetings, informal collaboration and scheduled activities to take place within a single, uninterrupted environment. This setup enabled teams to move seamlessly between work periods and organised ocean activities without leaving the property.

Fuvahmulah’s natural and operational advantages formed a key part of the retreat’s appeal. As one of the Maldives’ largest inhabited islands, it offers immediate access to pelagic dive sites, internationally recognised shark diving and surf breaks suitable for instruction, alongside the infrastructure required to support extended group stays.

The offsite reflects a growing preference among technology and knowledge-sector teams for small-scale retreats that prioritise concentrated work environments and team cohesion over traditional conference formats. Such programmes typically involve longer stays and higher per-capita spend, aligning with sustainable, quality-driven tourism models.

The retreat also demonstrates how locally operated properties such as Ataraxis Grand & Spa are supporting this shift by delivering unified environments where accommodation, workspaces, connectivity and curated experiences operate as a single programme rather than separate services.

As organisations continue to explore alternative formats for strategy sessions, team resets and creative offsites, Ataraxis Grand & Spa’s experience positions Fuvahmulah as an increasingly viable destination for integrated corporate retreats.

Ataraxis Grand & Spa offers work-and-dive retreat programmes in Fuvahmulah that combine accommodation, dedicated workspaces, high-speed connectivity and organised diving and surfing.

Further information on retreat formats and dive-inclusive stays is available via the Ataraxis Grand & Spa website.

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