Taste Tibet opened new premises on Magdalen Road in east Oxford last November just as the second lockdown hit. Luckily its origins as a street food trader with a long-running stall in Oxford’s Gloucester Green market as well as touring festivals and catering at Oxford and Cambridge university balls came in handy. Owner Julie Kleeman said: “We spent much of 2020 renovating our new premises and it was clear that the pandemic wasn’t going anywhere and we were just going to have to open in some capacity at some point! “Luckily we have been operating as a takeaway for many years and we already have a good following locally of people who know us for healthy, comforting takeaway food and we’ve just kept this model for the time being.”
Under the new restrictions, all non-essential businesses, including retail and leisure sites, must close. Pubs and restaurants can only open for take-out and delivery services. Julie Kleeman, who owns the new restaurant Taste Tibet on Magdalen Road with her husband Yeshi Jamp, said the biggest ‘challenge’ during this lockdown would be trying to run the take-out service alongside caring for their two primary school-aged children. The couple have decided to stay open for takeaway on Fridays and Saturdays and will be offering delivery of chilled and frozen foods on Thursdays. Ms Kleeman said: “The lockdown did not come as a surprise at all to us, but it still doesn’t feel great.