Exclusive: Footfall in Birmingham down by 70% as pubs and restaurants struggle to cope

  • Watch the full report by Mark Gough, ITV Central Business Correspondent

Despite most lockdown restrictions on hospitality venues ending in May, the challenges faced by pubs and restaurants are far from over.

Those situated in inner-city Birmingham say it's just not the same as it was, as people still aren't traveling into the city for work or socialising as much as they used to.

Figures seen by ITV Central prove just that.

Hospitality and retail analytics company Wireless Social record footfall as nearly 70% down on pre-pandemic levels.

For many pubs and restaurants, a year of restrictions have proved too much to survive, and they have ceased to reopen.

For others, they're battling staff shortages and continued restrictions such as social distancing and hesitant customers.

"There was absolutely nobody coming here"

For the manager of Chung Ying Restaurants, opening on Birmingham's stylish Colemore Row was a dream come true.

James Wong's parents opened Chung Ying Cantonese in the Chinese Quarter in 1981, when James was just 7 years old. It soon became one of the city's most popular venues for Chinese food.

He has worked for the family business for 20 years, and opened a second branch, Chung Ying Central, on Colemore Row in 2013.

It relied heavily on the after-work trade from city professionals, but with most working from home in 2020, the business was no longer viable.

Mr Wong said, "I would drive past on Colemore Row everyday, just to check the restaurant, and the surrounding areas. There was absolutely nobody coming here."

After making the difficult decision to close Chung Ying Central earlier this year, Mr Wong says the focus now is on the remaining Chung Ying Cantonese restaurant, where business is picking up.

"We're struggling to find people to work for us"

Situated in Birmingham's iconic Brindley Place, densely populated by office blocks, is Italian restaurant Cielo.

General manager, Ali Ozdemir, says the restaurant had to close for a few days like Monday Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday lunchtime after reopening, because people simply weren't around.

The other problem, he says, is that: "the weekends are good, the demand is fantastic, but we just cannot find enough people to to work for us."

Staff shortages are due to foreign workers in the hospitality industry returning home during the pandemic, or simply not staying on after Brexit.

"Restrictions are going to affect the environment"

One economist says the continued restrictions are limiting the experience of customers, which means traveling into the city for dining and drinking is less desirable.

Isabelle Szmigin from Birmingham Business School says many smaller inner-city pubs are not built for social distancing and table service.

Which pubs and restaurants has Birmingham lost in the past year?

  • Island Bar, Suffolk Street Queensway

  • Opus Restaurant, Cornwall St

  • Chung Ying Central, Colmore Row

  • Pint Shop, Bennetts Hill

  • Eden Bar, Sherlock Street

  • Lucky Duck, Caroline Street

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