Babul’s in Darlington cancels 300 bookings after power outage

A spokesman for Babul’s in Darlington said the restaurant had to cancel reservations at short notice following a power outage last night (Saturday September 2) which affected 60 premises in Skinnergate and Coniscliffe Road.

The restaurant apologized to customers for the “frustrating” circumstances and said it had done its best to keep operating.

They added that this would be their busiest weekend and that the lost business had suffered a “massive hit” which would take months to recover from.

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A company spokesman said: “Yesterday was a very frustrating day for us.”

“We, along with many other businesses in the area, suffered a severe power outage – power was interrupted several times throughout operations. It was the last Saturday of the school holidays and was on track to be the busiest weekend yet.”

“We were promised several times by Northern Powergrid that power would be available again “within an hour,” which ultimately kept changing. Finally, it was too late to plan a backup when we were told the power wouldn’t be back on until 10pm.

“Unfortunately, we were in the situation where we had to cancel bookings for over 300 guests at very short notice.

“We would like to apologize to our customers, many of whom have waited months for their table. We tried our best to maintain service but were ultimately disappointed.”

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Babul’s added that the cost of a full-service team and preparing inventory for a busy night also put a financial strain on them.

The company also said it would explore backup power options to prevent this type of disruption in the future.

“It is a very difficult environment for many businesses, many of which have already closed due to rising costs,” they added.

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“We have suffered a massive drop in sales, coupled with the cost of a full-service team and preparing inventory for a busy night, meaning it will take us several months to recover.”

“Again, we apologize to all our customers for the inconvenience caused and hope this does not deter you from visiting us again.

“We are currently examining options for emergency power supply so that such disruptions do not harm us in the future. We would be very grateful for recommendations and advice.”