Why these big-name high street stores have NOT reopened this week THE coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating effect across huge areas of the UK economy, but few areas felt as hard an impact as the retail and hospitality sectors. Restaurants, pubs, bar, cafes and leisure venues were forced to shut their doors in March when the virus first struck the UK. Venues started to reopen their doors to customers again in July but were then hamstrung by local restrictions, a 10pm curfew, new service rules and a second national lockdown in England in November. Thousands of venues are still shut as a result of restrictions across the UK.