Businesses in Plymouth鈥檚 Grade I listed Royal William Yard have seen a summer hike in trade with the Government鈥檚 Eat Out to Help Out initiative credited for boosting the restaurant quarter.
Although the waterfront area, , lost its large Las Iguanas eatery when the , other restaurants benefited from the month-long cheap-meal deal.
The EOtHO scheme made a 鈥渄ramatic difference鈥 throughout August, RWY bosses said, ensuring tables were full and 鈥減hones ringing off the hook鈥.
And when the scheme ended, many of the yard鈥檚 diners continued their own promotions, with Wildwood extending the offer into September and beyond for those who sign up online.
Prezzo is offering two courses for 拢10 from Monday-Wednesday and Bistrot Pierre reported a 鈥渂usy and buoyant鈥 period and is now giving 50% off dishes every Monday through to Wednesday in September.
And Seco Lounge reported its biggest ever summer in the decade it has been at RWY. This came as its owner, Bristol-headquartered Loungers announced a sales hike of 29.9% across its 167 Loungers and Cosy Club venues in England and Wales, from July to September.
The company鈥檚 post-lockdown trading results saw revenue rise to 拢166.5million for the financial year ending in April 2020, up by more than 拢13million.
An Instagram post from Seco Lounge said: 鈥淎nd that's a wrap on summer 2020 at Seco. Officially our biggest summer in the 10 years we've been open.
鈥淩ecord numbers of you came to visit us for discounted food in the midst of a global pandemic this month. Not quite how we expected the year to go.鈥
Meanwhile, Royal William Yard Apartments reported 100% occupancy for July and August bookings for its serviced apartments in the former victualling yard.
It is thought a surge in staycations, particularly with quarantine measures brought in for people returning to the 海角视频 from some international destinations, has benefited the waterfront destination with the RWY鈥檚 restaurants and accommodation providers reporting bumper bookings and record levels of trade this summer.
Virtual visitors also contributed to the boom, with figures from the RWY website showing visits to its 鈥渟tay鈥 page more than doubled 鈥 a 122% increase - in July and August compared to 2019.
The entire website saw a leap in traffic to almost 60,000 visits in August 鈥 almost twice the hits it received in the same period in 2019.
And a new 鈥渞eopening鈥 section to help people plan their return to the yard after lockdown had more than 6,000 clicks within a few weeks of launching.
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The yard, in the Stonehouse area of the city, also had a visit from celebrity chef Aldo Zilli, who took part in a 鈥渃ook your catch鈥 fishing trip and dining experience with the newly opened restaurant The Hook and Line. He also had a wine tasting at Le Vignoble and his children tried stand-up paddle boarding with South West SUP.
Extreme adventurer Jordan Wylie took a break from a world record attempt to circumnavigate Great Britain by paddleboard, stopping for a vegan feast and beer at another new business, the microbrewery Steel Brew Co.
And professional sailor Conrad Humphreys berthed and sailed his boat, as featured on Channel 4 series Mutiny. from the RWY marina.
Hailey Cattle, regional marketing manager for Urban Splash, said: 鈥淭his summer has far surpassed expectations. It was a pleasure to welcome everyone and the businesses here have worked tirelessly to give everyone the safe trip and happy memories they deserve after a tough time.
鈥淲ith plenty going on at the yard in the months ahead and our vibrant community up and running once again, it鈥檚 a great time to plan a safe staycation.鈥
