Pubs and cafes face challenges as lockdown eases

Bars and restaurants have been welcoming back customers but how are they coping with the extra challenges that come with Covid regulations?

Current rules mean customers must be seated outside and served at their tables, meaning capacity is limited and more staff are needed.

Weather has also hampered venues, with some even having to clear away snow.

But despite the cold, Monday saw beer gardens and seating areas full of people hoping for a taste of normality.

Lou Wellman, co-owner of Boheme coffee lounge and bar in Poole, Dorset, said although the first day went "exceptionally well in terms of footfall", it was not yet clear whether the combined cost of extra staff and reduced seating would make it viable to remain open.

And to make matters worse, he has been told open-fronted beach huts in the cafe's garden do not count as outside seating, further cutting his capacity.

He said: "Given that the weather is volatile at the moment, it's another blow to potential recovery and it's a slap in the face when we see that people are packed into retails shops, locally."

Warwick Heskins, who runs The Catherine Wheel pub in Newbury, Berkshire, raised similar concerns about the viability of opening.

He said: "You've got to look at the costs against the likely reduced sales. You've got such a small customer base now with the outdoor seating, but the staff costs remain high.

"Basically, you always have to overstaff. That's the same for me and every other pub and restaurant that's opening now."

Mr Heskins said he had poured £5,000 worth of alcohol down the drain during the pandemic.

He said the pub would remain shut at least for the next week or two although its sister venue, The Spare Wheel, would reopen on Wednesday.

In Oxfordshire, Adam Vines, manager of The Bear and the Ragged Staff pub in Cumnor, woke up to a blanket of snow on his beer garden.

He said: "We were very busy - once the snow cleared at midday - all day long. It didn't stop our guests coming to us at all."

In Southampton, Katie Belo dos Santos of SeeSouthampton tour guiding association was in Bedford Place, where tables had been set out in the partially-closed street.

She said: "Despite the cold weather, the sun came out, and I could hear laughter - a lot of laughter."

Mandy Lacey-Cross, co-owner of Dancing Man Brewery pub and restaurant, also in Southampton, said her first customers had been "happy, kind and patient" while the team "worked flat out".

She said: "Each time we have a lockdown and a reopening, we have to alter the structure of the business.

"We are at the mercy of our British weather - if it's a rainy day with no chance of clearing up, we will stay closed. If dry and, even better, sunny, we intend to be open noon to 11pm every day."

In Maidenhead, Jen Baish, landlady of the Barley Mow in Cox Green, described it as the "best Monday ever".

She said: "We had an absolutely fantastic day with over 200 customers throughout the day. It was fantastic seeing all our locals back out even though it wasn't the warmest of days."

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