Yell diner to remain closed until next year due to knock-on effects of coronavirus pandemic

A YELL cafe and restaurant says it will not reopen this year over worries the business will not be viable without a full summer of tourist trade.

LJ’s Diner and Pizzeria is instead aiming to reopen in April 2021.

“Basically we made the decision purely on the viability of the business as we don’t believe the tourists this year will be enough to see us through the winter months,” a representative for the business said.

Indoor hospitality premises like cafes are allowed to reopen in Scotland from 15 July, but social distancing measures need to be in place.

The sector, however, will be hit by the lack of tourist trade this year.

Businesses have been closed since lockdown was imposed in March, although some cafes have been offering takeaways.

It comes after the coffee shop inside in the Shetland Museum and Archives also decided not to reopen this year for similar reasons.

Emma Louise’s Coffee Shop owner Emma Macdonald said last week that “we have done the maths and it’s just not viable without the summer trade”.

Coffee shop in museum won’t re-open this year as lack of summer trade makes cafe ‘unviable’