Locked down with the best pizza in town…

Even though the tables here at Proove have remained empty since the lockdown measures were put into place our team of pizzaiolos have been sure to keep themselves busy

Here’s how we’ve been spending our time in lockdown…

Since being forced to close in the middle of March, we knew we had to keep our team focussed on protecting three key things: our staff, our restaurants and our products. As soon as the government announcement was made, we drafted an action plan to make sure we were all well prepared to ride out the storm, with our number one commitment being to protect the well-being and security  of all of our employees and keep our teams going.

As businesses across all sectors began to temporarily shut up shop, we started to worry that our plan might not be enough. But, just two weeks down the line, it turned out our fears were unfounded.

We have to admit, it was pretty weird for us to be cooking food in an empty restaurant, particularly during the first few weeks of lockdown, but we kept the music playing and soon adapted! Passionate about maintaining the same level of service and quality of food you’d normally receive when dining with us, we remained committed to ensuring that the customer experience stayed up to standard.

We’ve really enjoyed being able to stay open through our take away and delivery channels, knowing that our customers have been enjoying our food from the comfort of their own homes . We’re so grateful to have been offered a lifeline in the form of our dine-out service, and we’d like to say a massive thank-you to the staff who made that possible, and of course to our  customers who have continued to support us over the past few months.

IT’S ALL ABOUT COMMUNITY SPIRIT

While we’ve faced some struggles with having to adapt the way that we work in order to keep everyone safe, we know that the situation our key workers have had to face has been much harder, and we felt we had a great opportunity to give something back.

As a way of saying thanks and showing our support and admiration for their hard work and bravery, we’ve been running a #TrayADay campaign since the 6th April, during which time over £25,000-worth of pizza has been donated to the NHS and key workers across Sheffield and Manchester who have all been risking their health to keep the country going.

It’s been a huge pleasure to drive this campaign and to see so much support rallied within the community. Thank you to everyone who nominated their heroes for #TrayADay, and thank you to the nurses, doctors, paramedics, teachers, cleaners, firefighters, postal workers, police, shop owners, checkout assistants, shelf stackers, delivery drivers, and every other key worker who has been working to stop the spread and fight this virus.

APPY DAYS!

We’re delighted by the recent announcement that, as of 4th July, venues in the hospitality industry including pubs and restaurants can begin to reopen, and we’re excited to welcome our customers back into a COVID-safe restaurant .

In our effort to keep staff and customers safe, we’re going digital! We’ve decided to ditch our paper menus and instead will be encouraging our customers to place their order with the chefs via our new app! This, along with our arrangements for implementing social distancing measures, will reduce contact between staff and customers and therefore help to ensure everyone is protected.

READY TO JOIN US?

We’re so looking forward to welcoming customers back through our doors, and in order to make it happen, we’ve had to put some measures into place to ensure everyone can enjoy their food in a safe environment. As well as going digital, we’ve rearranged the tables in all of our restaurants to ensure that a distance of at least 1 metre is maintained between diners at all times.

Here are a few pointers for you to be aware of before joining us in our restaurants:

• Customers will only be able to dine in our restaurants with a confirmed booking in place. You can make a reservation with us over the phone, or you might choose to book online via our website. If you’re booking online, the maximum number of guests per table is limited to four. However, we may be able to accommodate tables with a larger number of guests – please contact the restaurant directly and speak to a member of our team, who will be happy to help.

•  Table bookings will be taken according to set time slots, which will allow us to monitor the number of customers arriving through our doors at any one time.

• In order to keep things running smoothly and avoid any potential congestion in our restaurants, we ask that customers please arrive for their reservation on time. If you or another member of your party is running late, please call the restaurant to let a member of staff know and we will do our utmost to move your reservation into a later time slot. However, please be advised that, should all later slots be fully reserved, it is unlikely that we will be able to hold your table for any longer than 10 minutes after your original reservation time.

• Upon arrival, you will be welcomed and seated at your table by one of our hosts. Please don’t be alarmed by the lack of cutlery – we won’t be forcing you to face the age-old question of whether to eat your pizza with your fingers or your fork! Although it may look bare, we have removed all cutlery from the tables for the safety of our customers, to minimise the risk of contamination. All cutlery and glassware will be provided upon placing your order with us.

• Please sit back and relax, and let us come to you! As we’ve gone digital, all orders will be placed and paid for via our new app. If you need help getting started, please don’t hesitate to ask!

• Please be assured that all surfaces, crockery, tableware, door handles, card payment machines and washrooms will be wiped down and fully sanitised regularly throughout the day/evening.

This has been a tricky time for all of us, but we’re glad to finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. While things have been tough, we’re taking the positives from the past few months, and we’re happy to include our lockdown experiences in the latest chapter of the Proove story.

 We’re so looking forward to welcoming you all back through our doors and serving  our delicious pizzas (on plates!) once more from 4th July. We’ll have the drinks on ice – all you’ll need to bring is your appetite (and your app)!