Once coronavirus-lockdown rules are imposed, there’s no limit to how insane and unchangeable they can be. In California, outdoor dining is prohibited while next door a movie company can run a full outdoor-catering operation.
In much of Europe, you can’t serve alcohol in a pub unless it’s ordered “with a substantial meal.” A big problem is that many people who want to drink ignore the meal, leading to huge food waste.
A Dublin pub told its customers they could donate the price of its least expensive €9.00 ($11) meal to a homeless charity instead of having it served to them. But local police have nixed the plan, saying the food must be served.
Ronan Flood, the owner of Oscars Bar, says the regulation is insane. Last Friday night, he had 380 customers and only eight of them actually wanted to eat their meal. “(People) have eaten in another restaurant and they were coming to us just for drinks,” he says. “Perfectly good food was left untouched and went into the bin.”