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The restorer Peter Orrmyr has been between hope and despair for several months. When the government announced that the alcohol ban would be extended after 8pm, the carpet was pulled back again, and he is disappointed at the short notice. “That they go out with that two days before, is not right,” he says.
Peter Orrmyr, together with his family, owns the Brasserie Lavette, Totale, Natur, Bord 27 and Salut restaurants in Gothenburg. He is critical of the short notice when the alcohol ban was extended. Stock Photography.
For several days, Peter Orrmyr and his colleagues on the management team grappled with an important issue.
Since Dec. 24, when the government’s temporary tightening of the alcohol ban went into effect, they have had to stop serving alcohol – and thus close restaurants – at 8 p.m. But on Friday, January 15, the ban would expire and it would be allowed to be open until 22 again.
On Wednesday, January 13, they got together for a meeting. Peter Orrmyr and his family have several restaurants and restaurants in Gothenburg. During the pandemic, they have suffered heavy losses and been forced to lay off all non-permanent staff, and the strict ban on alcohol has made the situation considerably more difficult.
The question that was played around the table was: Would they dare to trust that the ban would not be extended?
– We decided to reopen on Saturday. They all thought the same: “They can’t come two days earlier and extend this.” But apparently they could, he says.
When the government announced Thursday that the alcohol ban will be extended further after 8 p.m., until January 24, hope faded again.
– You are almost dull, the air comes out of you again and again. For the staff it’s even more tiring, I call one day and say “okay, now we’re driving!”, To call back the next day and cancel.
Lena Hallengren tells TT that she understands the reactions, but that the decision could not be made earlier.
– When we have a connection with the current infection situation, it is difficult to make decisions before, otherwise, we simply do not take into account the infection situation. It is now extended for ten days to also sync with a series of other decisions that expire on January 24. We need to make a general evaluation.
Peter Orrmyr questions that reasoning.
– Already on Monday, you should have understood that it will not last, we read in the newspaper about how serious it is. Let them go out with it the day before, it’s not right, he says
At the same time, Peter Orrmyr emphasizes that he has a great understanding of the severity of the pandemic.
– Here we are on one side and we want to keep our companies, but on the other side people die. It’s a very mixed feeling.
It is not about companies that want to make money, he emphasizes, but about “just surviving.”
– The best thing would have been for the government to shut down the industry in November and help us with fixed costs and staff salaries. He had felt better.
