Diners flock to Black Country restaurants and cafes to Eat Out to Help Out

Cafes across the Black Country and Staffordshire have reported a "busy first week" of the month thanks to the Government's Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which allows customers to claim 50 per cent off their food and non-alcoholic drinks – up to £10 per person – when they sit-in for food.

Owners can then claim back the money from the Government within days.

It was launched in a bid to get the hospitality industry back on its feet following the coronavirus lockdown which saw many places close for months.

Figures show that British diners ate more than 10 million meals last week as part of the new plan – and the Treasury said it had been sent 10,540,394 claims for individual meals from restaurants. It has put aside £500 million to pay for the programme, with around 83,000 restaurants signing up.

The Old Glass House in Dudley is just one of the restaurants benefitting from the scheme.

Manager Shakeel Zafar, said: "It's been really busy this week and I think the scheme has really helped with that as people have been taking advantage of it.

"We started running it on Tuesday as we don't normally open on Mondays, although the scheme means we'll open from Monday to Wednesday each week during August and see how we get on.

"It's been exceptionally busy over the last few days. We're living in unprecedented times and we found that Tuesday and Wednesday were actually busier than what we get at the weekends.

"It's actually looking like for the first three days of each week, we're going to be fully booked up to the end of the month, which is such a boost for us.

"I think that if people can afford to do so and there's an incentive to do so, then they'll want to go back to the pub.

"The reception from customers has been great as they keep telling me how much they love a bargain and love seeing what their bills look like at the moment."

Digby's Cafe in Walsall has also been busy – serving up cooked breakfasts and lunches to dozens of customers.

And Veggie Supreme Pizza in Sedgley Street, Wolverhampton, also reported a booming week.

Owner of the pizza place Harminder Singh said: "The Government's scheme has been positive. We have had a good response from customers," he said.

"We haven't allowed customers to eat in since lockdown began but once the scheme was announced we thought it was a good opportunity to do it.

"We are putting Covid measures in place to ensure the safety of our staff and customers."

"As a small business, we are completely reliant on our customer base. I think this scheme is good as it has allowed our existing customers to enjoy the benefits while also attracting new customers.

"All three days were busy last week.

"It got busier as more people found out about the scheme."