How can our pubs survive pre-booking, a 105-minute limit and a €9 threshold?
JUST over five years ago I was in New York for work when I found myself with an unexpectedly free evening. It had been a stressful few days and I was glad of the downtime.
It was my first time in New York, it was February and snowing, so I decided to just leave my hotel and take a wander. Every crossroads I hit, I’d look around, choose a direction and follow it.
I wasn’t worried about getting lost, wherever I ended up, I’d grab a taxi back to my hotel.
After a couple of hours of meandering, I was getting hungry – and thirsty. ‘I’d murder a pint of cider,’ I thought.
Having lived in California for several years, I knew my only chance of that tipple would be an Irish bar. I kept an eye out and having passed several that were a bit too shamrocks and shillelaghs for my liking, I happened upon one with a more subdued grip on its ties to the homeland.
In I went and looked around. A waitress approached me, asked if I was eating and if I was alone. When I said yes to both, she asked if I’d mind sitting at the bar as it was a Saturday evening and they were expecting to get busy.
‘Not at all,’ I assured her – it’s where I like to sit if I’m in a pub on my own anyway.
She led me to a seat and told me the bartender would be with me soon. A door at the back of the bar opened and a girl walked through. ‘Sharon?’ I said.
‘Linda?’ she replied. ‘No way, great to see you.’
Sharon had worked behind the bar in my local back in Dublin for several years but I hadn’t seen or heard from her since she’d moved to America, about eight years before. ‘Cider?’ she asked. ‘Ah sure go on,’ I said.
Authentic
Sharon was finished her shift about an hour later so I had something to eat while I waited for her and we were able to chat in snippets while she worked. She joined me when she was finished.
As the bar filled up, she introduced me to several of the regulars. Within a few hours, I was surrounded by a cohort of new friends and as a band warmed up, I knew I was there for the night. That, to me, is an Irish pub. It’s why I seek them out wherever I travel. Yes, many around the world are all style no substance, but a true, authentic Irish pub has that familiar warm, intimate, friendly feel the moment you walk in the door. That’s what sets it apart.
McLaughlin’s in Dusseldorf. The Dubliner in Copenhagen. Paddy Reilly’s in Basel. Fibber’s in Dubai. McBride’s in Barbados. These are some that have nailed it and in which I’ve spent many a good night out.
It’s not about being fancy, it’s about being real. You can’t create it, it’s just there.
And now everything that’s good about an Irish pub in our own country is under threat. The new guidelines on pub reopenings, to be published in the coming days by the Government, are said to include some ridiculous proposals.
Customers must prebook. They can only stay for 105 minutes. They have to eat a ‘substantial’ meal costing at least €9.
Hmm, something you must book ahead, with a limited amount of time and with food being served – this sounds familiar to me, what does it remind me of? Oh yes, restaurants, of which we already have enough, thank you.
There are so many holes in this plan, it may as well cry ‘cuckoo’ and come served with crackers – once it costs more than €9, of course.
And therein lies the first problem. Why €9? It’s a figure that appears to have been plucked out of the sky. Perhaps around the city centre where the ministers eat their lunch, it seems reasonable.
Well may I point them in the direction of Paddy Cullen’s in Ballsbridge, a stone’s throw from my office, where I can guarantee them they’ll get a very substantial ham and cheese toastie with a sizeable side of crisps for €5. They could even add a side of chips or a bowl of soup and at €8.50 still not meet the threshold.
And this is just one of a host of pubs around the country doing quality food at reasonable prices.
It also means people having to order another meal if they move to a second pub or more, meaning we’ll be eating four large meals just to get a night out with friends.
The second issue is pre-booking. Firstly, it rules out the best pub days – the unexpected ones. The ones when you find yourself sitting in the pub awaiting your fourth pint with a bag at your feet containing bread and the newspaper because you were only planning to nip to the shops but found yourself getting waylaid by a chance meeting with a friend.
Flexibility
It also increases the chances of pubs being hit by the bane of restaurateurs – no-shows. People who book several venues for the same time and then just decide on the night which suits them best, leaving hosts with empty tables.
In rural areas, where there are limited options, it offers no flexibility to those who just want to enjoy a few hours of company – for many, the only company they have in life.
It also encourages pub crawls as when most people go out, they’re out for the night. So having condemned the ‘12 Pubs of Christmas’ for years, they’re now actively telling people that’s the best way to party.
The third issue is the time limit. How does that apply to those who come to watch sport? Do they have to leave 15 minutes before the end of a Premier League game or can they take a half-time break like the players and then stay until the end? What if a game goes to extra time or penalties – do they have to leave and watch through the window?
If tennis is your sport of choice, you’d have to book three pubs or more to watch the marathon matches that the likes of Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal regularly serve up.
This is all before we even contemplate the fact that if someone does have Covid-19, forcing them to move like this increases the amount of places they’re spreading it to.
The plan as flagged is unenforceable and puts the future of pubs around the country in jeopardy at a time when we should be doing all we can to save them.
I love pubs. I love the banter, the craic, the chats, the slagging, the laughter.
But most of all, I love the friendships, already in existence or newly made.
It will be a sad day when we have to get on a plane before we can experience all that again.