60 seconds with…Alexandre Santamaria, Co-Founder - Cha Cha Group x Sister Jane

How was the re-opening of your business and how was it carried out in line with safety procedures put in place to allow social distancing?

Pretty smooth thanks to the team being there for us and remaining loyal throughout the storm.

By now, Management and Head chef are very aware of H&S challenges and new measure to keep our staff and guests safe.

How is the general feeling and feedback from your team members and your customers now the lockdown is over?

This second lockdown was less of a big deal for the clientele, we can see that there has been no rush back into restaurants this Wednesday. Perhaps it is also because this second lockdown was shorter.

The staff however was much worse affected by the second lockdown as no one knew how long it would last. Most of our team members are in hospitality because they like people and they like to keep busy. Lockdown is very painful for some.

What market trends are you seeing since re-opening?

Shorter menus.

List lots of magnums for the 10pm last order!

What techniques have you used to build sales and re-engage customers?

Back to basics! All about getting the community back together, guests relations management face to face.

This is not time for technology but for giving love.

What positive lessons do we need to learn from what the industry has been through?

After this crisis, we feel ready for pretty much anything.

Seeing how staff, management and owners stuck together was truly a life lesson.