SOCIAL distancing, self-quarantining and forced closures of restaurants, pubs and clubs are threatening our local businesses.

During the Coronavirus outbreak, some of our shops and firms in Thurrock have struggled to stay afloat during the uncertainty of the pandemic. They have had to take measures and change the way they run their businesses.

Purfleet's William White Meats have created a new online shop for the community to buy their meat during the pandemic. The family-run butchers have specialised in supplying meat to schools in Thurrock and London, and have now opened their stock to the general public.

Sophie White, Marketer for William White Meats and daughter of the owner, William White said: "The closure of schools will affect us hugely, but we need to ensure we remain up and running. Our priority is to continue to be able to supply in order to feed the children of key workers still in school.

"As a result of the school closures, we have a lot of stock, so we have opened an online shop and are opening up our stock to members of the general public to support the local community and ensure they have access to food during this unsettling period," she said.

Sophie added: "We have rapidly expanded our delivery area too because we have had a lot of interest from far and wide. We will be doing contact-free deliveries to keep person-to-person contact to a minimum and everything will be frozen so that people can stock their freezers and not panic."

After Boris Johnson's announcement of the closures of pubs, bars and restaurants yesterday, establishments like Desi Indian Dining Club in Grays, have been forced to only offer takeaways.

Abs Bashir, manager of Desi Dining Club on Orsett Road in Grays said: "The closures will have an affect on us, because we like to give our diners the best dining experience in the restaurant. It's the interaction and conversation we hold with customers that identifies us.

"We have worked to stay open. We have taken measures during this pandemic by giving out hand sanitiser gel before entering and leaving, which is new for us, and we have had to reduce staff on a temporary basis," he said. "But we have to face up the fact that dining inside has now ended for the time being."

Desi Indian Dining Club is still offering their takeaway and delivery service Monday to Sunday at the new time of 3pm-10pm. They are also offering free food for collection for people who are in need.

With the uncertainty of how long the pandemic will last, local businesses will have to continue to adapt in order to keep their firms running.

William White Meats and Desi Dining are doing just that. So are many others and Thurrock Nub News will be bring you regular updates from the business front line.

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