Sat Bains estimates two-day flooding closure cost his restaurant £50,000
Chef Sat Bains has estimated the two-day closure of his two-Michelin-starred restaurant due to nearby flooding has cost the business around £50,000.
Up to four feet of water has flooded the access road to the Nottingham restaurant making it inaccessible and preventing the restaurant from opening today. Bains hopes to reopen the restaurant on Friday once the water has receded but said cancelled bookings and deliveries had already had a financial impact.
He said the business had been fully booked due to the half term holiday, and has had to cancel approximately 120 dinner covers and 14 room bookings.
"The safety of our guests and staff is paramount," said Bains, speaking to The Caterer. "The good thing is that the restaurant's not flooded – I was there in 2000 when we did get flooded and that was horrendous.
"We've telephoned everybody, we've sent emails out, we've made sure that everyone who's got travel plans with us is aware of what the situation is, and that's all we can do. But it does look like it's going to subside over the weekend."
Bains, who has spent about £10,000 improving the restaurant with rooms' flood defences since 2000, added: "It was probably half a metre away from the 2000 level of the river when it got flooded – so it was close. But we just don't know what's going to happen in the next 48 hours. The good thing is the water's going down."
Bains added: "My heart goes out to all the people whose homes have been flooded."
Restaurant Sat Bains is one of many hospitality businesses affected by storms in recent weeks - the wall of a guest house and bistro in the Scotttish Borders was dramatically swept into the river Teviot two weeks ago.
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