Family-run restaurants across Merseyside are increasingly forced to implement deposit policies as customers fail to show up for reservations. A three-month-old restaurant recently endured 31 no-shows in a single day, highlighting the severe financial impact on small businesses.
Financial toll of no-shows
According to 2025 data from Dojo, the average cost to a restaurant for a table of two not turning up for a dinner reservation ranges between £51 and £100. A staggering 92% of businesses report that cancellations impact their total revenue. The majority of customers cite feeling sick or unwell as the main reason for cancelling (29%), while 11% admit they simply forgot about the reservation.
Vine & Fire's plea
Last week, Crosby's Vine & Fire on St Johns Road, Waterloo, pleaded with guests to inform the venue of any changes after 31 people failed to appear for their reservations in a single day. The restaurant stated: 'This is really disappointing. For a small business like ours, every booking matters so much. Empty seats hit us harder than you might realise.' The post received resounding support from sympathetic customers and businesses sharing similar stories, prompting Vine & Fire to start rolling out a deposit policy for all bookings.
Other businesses share experiences
Crosby's Kraft Burger restaurant and Southport's Tik Taco, both independent businesses, faced similar challenges. Kraft Burger said: 'It’s not something we want to have in place and we have had a few negative comments in the past but we trialled removing it and ended up with no shows within the first few days so had to put it back in place.' Tik Taco added: 'This was happening to us a lot and it’s now stopped as we have put in place a deposit system when they book. Things like this can kill a small business.'
Reluctance to charge deposits
Many family-run businesses hesitate to implement deposit policies. Giuseppe Spinuso, owner of La Famiglia on Stanley Street in Liverpool, told the ECHO: 'People don't understand this is a family business and even if we have one or two tables who are no-shows, it can really hurt. As a family business, we don't take deposits. So, when there are tables of two or three or even big groups not showing up that we've prepared for, we're losing money.' He added: 'People need to understand that when they book a table and can't make it, it is fine. We understand. But the least you can do is tell us so we can be prepared for walk ins.'
St Helens pubs take action
St Helens' Windle Pub was forced to implement a deposit policy after a customer walked out without paying. Owner Taryn Byron said: 'If this keeps happening, it could shut us down.' She explained: 'When we do table service, it's much more personal. We get to interact with customers and provide a better experience. That's what we're about – personal customer service. It affects us a lot because we've had to pay staff to serve that customer, pay the utilities and pay for the ingredients and labour involved in cooking the meal.' As a result, the pub changed its policy to order at the bar and pay straight away.
Another St Helens pub, The Wheatsheaf, was left disappointed when a 12-person booking failed to appear. Maxine Kelly, who oversees day-to-day operations, told the ECHO: 'We send a Whatsapp asking for the pre-order and deposits but when they didn't get back to us we assumed they were just busy. ... We rang again but they wouldn't answer. It's really disappointing. A phone call takes two seconds and we're the most chilled out people ever, just let us know.'
