Power cut destroys Christmas business for Smithfield restaurants
Operators in London’s Smithfield Market claim to have lost thousands of pounds’ worth of trade and stock because energy supplier EDF failed to stop power cuts over the Christmas period.
Some owners had to cancel Christmas parties, turn away customers, throw away stock and watch services come to an abrupt halt as the power went off.
The Larder, Portal, The Clerkenwell and Pho were set to open for one of the busiest Mondays of the year when the electricity supply failed for the first time on 7 December. The four venues had to cancel all lunch bookings, book evening guests into nearby restaurants and pay for taxis.
Despite repeated calls for support, businesses in the area said that EDF failed to offer any back-up power, forcing them to hire generators to provide a private electricity supply.
Nick Male, owner of The Larder restaurant on St John Street, said: “I’ve lost thousands of customers by having to cancel parties because we had no power. Our bookings system goes down, till and ordering systems, fridges, computers – everything.
It is a complete nightmare. Things are hard enough. Operationally it is the worst thing I’ve seen during 22 years in the industry.”
A spokesperson for EDF energy said: “We are sorry for any business losses incurred during this interruption – caused by a complex fault on the electricity network – but in common with all other UK electricity companies, this is always a matter for the customer’s own business insurance.”
