Restaurants and pubs prepped and ready for busy Tennerfest

‘After 24 years in the community, Tennerfest is like a local institution,’ said Louise Gabriel, a Tennerfest organiser.

‘It’s a brilliant way to support local businesses.’

On Thursday, Jonathan Jackson, co-owner of The Queens Inn, said his restaurant was all fine and ‘ready to rumble’.

Ahead of 1 October, Mr Jackson said, The Queens already had a lot of bookings, with Saturdays mostly full up.

‘We’ve been working to make sure we are all stocked up, so we are hoping to keep a full stock throughout the month,’ he said.

Mr Jackson said ingredients and supplies were more expensive this year due to Covid-19, Brexit and a variety of other factors, which means profit from Tennerfest will not be significant.

However, he said it was worth taking part in the event to give back to his regulars and to draw new customers in.

Jimmy Wright, deputy manager at the Lobster and Grill at Le Friquet Hotel, said the restaurant is nearly booked up on weekends, with limited availability for lunch.

‘We made a conscious decision last year for Tennerfest to forget about the money and focus on building up our reputation in the community,’ said Mr Wright.

Despite the pandemic, Mr Wright said 2020 was the restaurant’s best Tennerfest ever.

Before last year’s Tennerfest promotion, he said, his restaurant struggled to generate a lot of lunchtime business.

Following the October scheme, however, lunch service has picked up.

‘The locals really are the backbone of our business and Tennerfest is about building a good relationship in the community,’ he said.

In terms of supply, Ms Gabriel said some costs have gone up, but she believed supply chains themselves remained stable.

She said a lot of restaurants have also taken staff shortage issues into consideration, with some taking time off ahead of Tennerfest.