By Ian McConnell
THE owners of Glasgow city-centre restaurant Il Pavone and Newton Mearns eateries Nonna Gina’s and Primavera have highlighted their installation of safety screens to maximise capacity as these venues prepare to reopen on Wednesday.
Il Pavone in Princes Square, set up nearly three decades ago, has unveiled a “reimagined” dining room with 85 per cent of the previous capacity, instead of 50%, as it looks forward to reopening in line with the latest easing of the Scottish Government’s coronavirus pandemic restrictions for hospitality businesses this week.
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The restaurant, co-owned by Mariangela and Guerino Marini and Marco Di Meo, is using Scottish businessman Paul Martin’s speciality and bespoke safety screens for the hospitality and leisure sectors in response to social-distancing guidelines. These freestanding safety screens and seating dividers, installed by Mr Martin’s team, match the restaurant decoration.
Mr Martin owns Cumbernauld-based Paul M Designs.
Mariangela Marini said: “The versatility of the safety screens has allowed us to have a reopening plan in place with the safety of our customers in front of mind. Maximising our capacity is essential to keeping our business viable. We were worried about the two-metre rule impacting the flow of our dining room and reducing our capacity by half. With our new social-distancing measures in place, we can maintain the excellent service and vibrancy our guests know and love us for while still operating at an 85% capacity. It’s been devastating not being able to open our doors these past few months, and we’re excited to swing them open safely.”
Mariangela Marini, her husband Guerino and her brother Marco Di Meo are also the co-owners of Nonna Gina’s and Primavera. These restaurants, in which Paul M Designs has also worked to maximise capacity with the placement of screens and dividers, will reopen at 90% of their previous capacity.
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