CHRISTCHURCH’S new environmentally conscious restaurant have been forced to delay their official opening due to the second national lockdown.

Eat27, an artisan style restaurant, was due to open in Saxon Square on Friday October 30 but has instead remained closed until after the current lockdown.

However, the restaurant is open for takeaway in the form of walk-ins for collection and Eat27 are now live on Just Eat for delivery in the local area every day from 12pm to 9pm.

Having had fears that the current lockdown could be the “death knell of independent traders”, owner of Eat27 Jordy says that locally owned businesses can continue to be the “life-blood of the local economy”.

She said: “We’ve delayed our full opening until post-lockdown which has given us the time we need to get everything completely ready before welcoming customers.

As with anything of a creative nature, we could spend forever making minor changes and tidying things but lockdown has been a bit of an imposed rest following a really insane period of busyness – which isn’t the worst thing.

We have started taking orders online and over the phone and we’ve currently got some wonderful customers at some of the surrounding builders merchants who have been really amazing to us during the course of the build so it’s been nice to repay their kindness.

The restaurant is operating specially curated highly discounted menus for local essential workers through their “Lockdown Lunchtimes” menus.

Eat27 also have a dedicated delivery team for these menus and are offering “Freebie Friday”, an initiative where customers who order from the eatery four times will get a meal on the house the next Friday.

Jordy says independent businesses in Christchurch are now poised to adapt and change as a result of the new lockdown and continue to provide necessary services for residents.

She added: “The Saxon Square area of Christchurch has seen some of the smaller independent shops remain open, such as the health food shops and bakeries, and this is really heartening to see.

“Smaller business are more able to be responsive and adapt quickly to changes without having to consider the lumbering wheels of bureaucracy.

“It would be such a shame if this lockdown is the death knell of independent traders in Christchurch and I’d like to think the public and fellow local business owners won’t let that happen as there is sense in the local area that independent, locally owned businesses really are the life-blood of the local economy around here.”