A week in the life of Redemption in the coronavirus crisis

​What a week!
 
We took the decision to close our restaurants exactly one week ago on Sunday 15th March after a bruising few weeks of losing trade and having read a lot of articles and spoken to our friends in the NHS. Regardless of the government’s hesitation it seemed to us to be irresponsible to keep asking our team to travel to work and to keep open a space where people gather.  
 
At that point we were not only facing up to the fact that we were out of a job for the foreseeable future, but that our industry and our livelihoods were also destroyed.  It was shocking and heartbreaking.
 
We had to clean everything like mad and secure the sites and give all our food away to charity, friends and family - all with broken hearts.  
 
Just when we were finally coming to terms with the situation came the unexpected announcement from the government late on Friday 20th to support 80% of wages. This means that together with the grants that have been promised, we can survive a lockdown and this bold move has bought everybody some breathing space.
 
We have pioneered the healthy socializing scene since 2015 - and 2020 was our year of it finally becoming mainstream to choose a mindful drinking lifestyle combined with a conscious, plant-based diet.  We remain the only restaurant bar to combine the two to create the concept of a space free from all toxins, temptations and bad decisions, for yourself or the planet. So it would be ridiculously heartbreaking if it came to and end in 2020.
 
Despite the fact that people are probably not going to eat out much this year, we believe that when they are ready to, that our type of delicious nutrition will serve people best as they think even more consciously about the effect of what they put in their body on their own health and immunity, and on the overall effect on planet Earth.
 
So we wanted to say a big thank you to our whole team for staying strong throughout this turbulent week, to say thank you to this wonderful group of humans who together have created the passion and love which goes into making the Redemption experience truly ‘spoil yourself without spoiling yourself’.  
 
We’d like to also thank all of our suppliers and our shareholders who continue to believe in us. We thank you for your patience during this difficult time.
 
But most importantly thank you to our amazing customers for all the love you give to us. 
 
Whatever happens next we can be proud that we achieved everything independent of any hand-outs or family money or corporate cash.  We got so many amazing 5* reviews, so many plaudits and accolades, and we’ve had a lot of fun along the way.  

We wish everyone a safe and healthy isolation period and we look forward to seeing you on the other side.

Love and peas
​Catherine and Andrea