Craving a pint in a pub? The wait is almost over
If you’ve been craving a cocktail or a hand-pulled pint then the wait is almost over as pubs and bars across the region will reopen tomorrow.
Although many venues that serve food opened last week, drinking establishments had to wait an extra week.
Under the Government’s alert level 2 regulations, punters must be seated and groups must be kept 1 metre apart.
Venues must keep a record of all customers and workers to enable contact tracing and must not have more than 100 people (excluding staff).
Ava Nakagawa, the general manager of Pomeroy’s Old Brewery Inn on Kilmore St, said they’d had ‘‘a week and a half to try and reinvent the business’’.
‘‘We’re feeling nervous. There are definitely limitations around only having 100 people on site – that doesn’t equate to that many people for us,’’ she said.
‘‘We’re grateful that we’re able to get back to this place. When you look globally [at the pandemic situation] we’re doing pretty well.’’
Staff roles had changed ‘‘dramatically’’ and customers would notice differences when they arrived, including table service.
‘‘Financially, it’s absolutely essential that we open now.
‘‘We are careful and do what is best for the business but closing for eight weeks when you weren’t planning for it is not good in anybody’s books,’’ Nakagawa said, adding that the wage subsidy had been ‘‘amazing’’.
At Fat Eddie’s on The Terrace, Sam Kumbaroff, the operations manager of The Oxford Group, said the venue can hold up to 350 people and usually has 1000 people coming through the doors on a typical Saturday night.
‘‘Customers will notice there’s not as many people in here, [and] they will be separate and sitting down, but it’s going to be the same Fat Eddie’s atmosphere,’’ Kumbaroff said.
‘‘We will still have an emphasis on jazz, but ... we won’t be having big bands at the moment while you cannot get up and dance.’’
The venue has undergone a mini makeover ahead of its reopening, he said.
‘‘We’ve spent a bit of money and brought some new furniture that was organised before the lockdown. There’s a lot of extra artwork. The idea is that Fat Eddie’s is a jazz club and everything’s quite eclectic.’’
The Craft Embassy general manager Seth Hamilton said they were looking forward to welcoming people back for a pint or a glass of wine.
‘‘We reopened last week for food but from Thursday groups of 10 or less will be able to come in for a drink,’’ he said.
‘‘People are really keen to go out and meet up. We have a lot of loyal customers, and they have said they are looking forward to coming back.’’
John Menary, the deputy manager of The Bog, said he was confident the venue would still feel like a traditional Irish pub, despite the new seating plan to ensure physical distancing.
‘‘We’ll be playing music by Irish acts and serving an Irish food menu, pints of Guinness and, of course, [have] a few Irish staff as well,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ve made a good few changes – we’ve refurbished the floor and painted as well. It’s nice and fresh.’’
He said staff were simultaneously excited and nervous about reopening. ‘‘It’s a new way of working for us all, but we’re looking forward to taking it on and smashing it out.’’