William Tomlin, the owner of eight restaurants in and around Cape Town, including the Chefs Warehouse chain, said his restaurants employ 251 people. One has already had to close temporarily, he said. So far he has managed to keep all staff on the payroll, though some on reduced salaries, he said. New staff had to be employed for Covid-19 check-in procedures at each restaurant.

“This was achieved by cutting into both my and each restaurant’s cash reserves. I have also had to remortgage my personal home, take out loans from the bank, and cash in on my pension fund to keep salaries paid, and keep the restaurants afloat,” said Tomlin.

“Financially, we are running out of road,” he said.