A NEW restaurant designed to reduce the spread of coronavirus is to open in Cornwall this summer.
Called the Anti-Social Club, the dining experience will be very different to what tourists usually expect.
Inside the restaurant will be 16 private dining rooms, and up to 96 guests, each with different dining times for each group.
Staff and guests will be required to stay two metres away from each other at all times, which will be helped by a new service system.
A central atrium will be the primary service area, with all food and drink delivered to the private rooms via hatches, meaning staff won't have to go into any of the rooms.
The rooms will only be able to be accessed from outside doors to avoid any groups crossing over as well.
When groups leave, every room will then be completely cleared and appropriately cleaned, then re-set-up, to meet all requirements, between each dining party.
The new restaurant concept has been designed by St Moritz Hotel founders Hugh and Steve Ridgway, along with the St Moritz director of restaurants, Jonathan Domé, in an attempt to welcome tourists back this summer.
Hugh said the new design was due to the virus which had "stopped the industry in its tracks" after hotels and restaurants were forced to close their doors since the beginning of the pandemic.
He explained: "Simply reworking our current restaurants and bars, and operating at 30 per cent capacity doesn’t allow that, so our specially-designed summer ‘pop-up’ restaurant, overcomes this obstacle."
His brother Steve added: "Thousands of customers do not want to miss their summer holidays and this will mean that they won’t, and that they can holiday in a safe and enjoyable way."
It hopes to open in time on July 4, the same time as the UK hospitality industry tentatively looks at being able to restart.
Hotels, campsites and restaurants are looking into how they can reopen safely from next month, with many opting for limited capacity and reduced communal activities and services.
For hotels, guests can expect limited entry to gyms, pools and spas, whilecarrying your own bags and reduced room service are also likely.
For campsites, shower and toilet facilities are unlikely to reopen any time soon and entertainment will be reduced or stopped altogether.
Visit Cornwall boss Malcolm Bell has warned tourists to expect a rather different holiday in the region this year.
He told Sun Online Travel: "The bulk of popular attractions will be doing timed ticketing and all restaurants will be doing reservations.
"We need to also avoid people turning up and queuing at places, so for takeaway food like fish and chips, people will need to order their food online and then wait to be told when to collect it."
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