Canteens back with tables but Picton stays shut

After the second lockdown was lifted in the UK this Wednesday, Kingston University canteens received a green light to operate again with seated areas.

However, nothing positive yet appears for the Picton Room, a popular café in the Penrhyn Road campus.

“We tried. We opened the Picton Room in September, but there were no sales, no customers at all. Then we made a decision to close,” said Ana Zeferino, General Manager of Hospitality at Kingston University’s Penrhyn Road campus.

While the Picton Room waits for better times, the canteen is operating as it used to be before the lockdown and Zeferino expects more customers until the marketplace shuts on the 18 December.

“When we returned from the first lockdown, we prepared the restaurant with all the social distancing measures and signs. Once we had the second lockdown, we moved all the tables away and worked as a takeaway service. On Wednesday, we moved all the tables inside back again.

“I hope we get more customers. We are opening a new Covid-19 centre from today, so we are hoping that would bring more people around.

“We still have hot meals, but, of course, it’s a bit reduced. We have pizzas, burgers, a main meal every day, lots of homemade production. We try to offer as much as we can. Canteen looks empty but we have a lot to offer,” Zeferino said.