Sam’s Riverside 'may not survive the winter' after being forced to close outdoor terrace
The restaurateur claims the resulting closure of the terrace at his Sam's Riverside restaurant is costing him up to £15,000 of trade per week and could leave him having to lay off his 50 staff in the lead up to Christmas.
It comes after Hammersmith and Fulham council said the marquee, which was put up during the pandemic, had to be removed as it is not allowed in current planning law.
“It’s been awful,” Harrison told MailOnline. “My team is my family. I spend more time at my restaurant than I do with my own family.
“I’ve had people in tears, asking how they’re going to pay their bills. They respect me as a businessperson and know I can’t give them hours if I simply don’t have them, but it’s heartbreaking.”
Already, Harrison said he's had to stop rostering four staff as a result of the decision, and has cancelled 50 Christmas bookings of various sizes, which had requested the space.
The restaurant erected the patio after the Government eased regulations to allow the hospitality trade to serve food outdoors during the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the council rejected a renewal request in November this year following several complaints from locals about noise.
Harrison is still allowed to serve customers on the patio without the marquee, but he has said it is not plausible to seat customers outside during the cold winter months.
He added that the marquee helped to drown out some of the noise.
“It’s the sound of clinking glasses. We’re a respectable restaurant, not a late night bar. We’re asking to trade outside until 10pm,” he said.
Harrison said a large chunk of the complaints have come from people who live in apartments in a complex above the restaurant.
“The people bought flats in a development that is an art centre with a restaurant. [Some] don’t even live here permanently, they’re not members of our complex above the building.”
He now believes it's a very real possibility that Sam's Riverside, which launched in late 2019, won't survive the winter.
“I genuinely don't know if we'll be here in the spring. If we don't generate enough cash in December, businesses like mine can't continue. You've still got to pay the rent and the bills, which are all out of control.
“Hospitality is my life, I love it. I don't know how to do anything else, but this is the hardest it's ever been. It's literally a daily fight for survival.”
Hammersmith and Fulham council has been in talks with Harrison about the issue, but a solution is yet to be found.
In a lengthy statement posted on the council’s website last week, it said: “We are dismayed there has been so much misrepresentation about this case.
“While Hammersmith & Fulham is very sympathetic to the challenges faced by Sam’s Riverside, we cannot breach planning regulations because he has chosen to run a media campaign.”
