RESTAURANTS are preparing to open their doors after being given a potential reopening date by the government.

Eateries in Bridport and the surrounding areas will be reopening in April and May following the staged reopening of the country laid out in the prime minister's 'roadmap' last month.

So long as coronavirus cases continue to fall, thee vaccination programme continuing with no disruption and no new coronavirus variants develop - restaurants with outdoor seating areas will be able to open from Monday, April 12, whilst indoor venues will be able to reopen from Monday, May 17.

Rise in West Bay and Swim in Lyme Regis will both be opening their outdoor areas in April.

Sam Beaton, operations manager at both Rise and Swim said: "We’re really excited to get the doors back open and see some familiar faces, see the staff again, and take the first steps in getting back to normality. There's a feeling that we're beginning to get back to normal and hopefully it will be a great summer.

"Taking a more cautious approach and opening hospitality in April and May makes sense to me.

"For us it's been huge to have a date to work towards this time around and having a better idea of what to expect. It would be much worse to be given a couple of weeks notice and have to reopen without any guidelines.

"Having no curfew and no rules around what you have to eat before you can get a drink will make things a lot easier for us. We're just looking forward to having everything back as close to normal as possible."

Robin Wylde, the Lyme Regis restaurant of TV chef Harriet Mansell, was only able to open for a number of weeks before the country was plunged back into lockdown in January.

Miss Mansell, who appeared on the BBC's Great British Menu, said: "We're really looking forward to opening in May, it's very exciting. We've had loads of bookings come in already which is great. It's been a nice steady flow since the announcement.

"All the staff are really excited to get open again. We were only open for five weeks previously so everyone wants to hit the ground running. It worked out for us really as a sort-of accidental trial period, we were able to troubleshoot a lot of our issues.

She added: "I can't wait to get reopen again. I invested a lot of money into this business to get it open last year and you’re at your most financially vulnerable at that moment. Two go through two lockdown after that point is a lot to handle for a new business. The bills and the costs don’t disappear because you’re closed.”

Brassica in Beaminster will also be reopening in May.

Cass Titcombe, co-owner of the restaurant, said: “We’re looking forward to finally being able to reopen. We’ve been working all the way through the lockdowns but we’re looking forward to be able to serve food on plates once again. With the gradual easing of the rules it should be a little bit easier for us than it was in December.

“I think the governments rulings have been quite inconsistent, they’re allowing general retail to open in April but restaurants have to wait – when we are more used to having restrictions – the industry adapted really well and to be honest, being told we have to wait another month stung a bit.

“We have measures in place since we were first able to reopen last year and will follow whatever regulations we are told to. It’s a bit grey, so we'll have to wait to hear what the official rulings are – but it feels like it should be a bit easier with less restrictions."