The reservation book was full and the kitchen was bustling. And then Belgiums prime minister ordered cafes, bars and restaurants to close for a month in the face of surging cases
Workers of catering sectors protest in Barcelona, Spain, on October 16. Pic/AFP
As the Friday night dinner service began earlier this month at the De Viering restaurant outside Brussels, it seemed the owners' decision to move the operation into the spacious village church to comply with COVID-19 rules was paying off.
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The reservation book was full and the kitchen was bustling. And then Belgium's prime minister ordered cafes, bars and restaurants to close for a month in the face of surging cases.
Another shock
"It's another shock, of course, because — yes, all the investments are made," said chef Heidi Vanhasselt. She and her sommelier husband Christophe Claes had installed a kitchen and new toilets in the Saint Bernardus church in Heikruis, as well as committing to 10 months' rent and pouring energy into creative solutions.
Vanhasselt's frustration is Europe's as a resurgence of the coronavirus is dealing a second blow to the continent's restaurants, which already suffered under lockdowns in the spring.
Eateries shuttered
From Northern Ireland to the Netherlands, European governments have shuttered eateries or severely curtailed how they operate. A restaurant remains "a place where very special moments are celebrated," said Griet Grassin of the Italian restaurant Tartufo on the outskirts of Brussels. "It's not just the food, but it's the well-being."
This time, the closures are particularly painful because they might stretch into the Christmas season, nixing everything from pre-holiday office drinks to a special meal on the day. Food historian professor Peter Scholliers asked: "We can live without being social? No, we can't." Overall, COVID-19 has killed over 2,40,000 people across all of Europe.
Spain mulls new curbs
Spain declared a second nationwide state of emergency starting Sunday night and ordered an overnight curfew across the country in hopes of stemming a resurgence in coronavirus infections, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said. Sánchez said his government is using the state of emergency to impose an 11 pm-6 am curfew, except in the Canary Islands.
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