Just when news about restaurants closing down during Lockdown had almost ground to a halt, eight restaurants in Cape Town in the past week have announced their closure, some temporary, due to the new Adjusted Level 3 Lockdown which commenced on 29 December 2020. The Curfew starting at 21h00, Restaurants having to close at 20h00, and alcohol sales not being allowed, combined with diners’ fear of the greater spreadability of the mutated Corona Virus, is affecting restaurant turnovers harshly.
Despite the Lockdown regulations affecting restaurants so badly in the past nine months, a total of 66 new restaurants have opened in Cape Town and the Winelands during Lockdown. Top chefs are opening new restaurants, including Chefs Peter Tempelhoff and Liam Tomlin. Continue reading →
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected every person and business, and restaurants and their owners have not been excluded from its impact. One of our country’s top restaurants, The Test Kitchen in Woodstock, as well as The Foodbarn in Noordhoek, have transformed themselves in their offering, even going so far as to change their restaurant names. These are two restaurants which have reacted to the effects of the Corona Lockdown of the past six months. 
Slowly the Lockdown has become the new norm, and there is little reason for Restaurants to not be open and trading, despite the lack of tourists from overseas. The opening of the country’s International borders, albeit only as of 1 October, appears to have had little impact on the Restaurant industry to date.