Friends reunite as country’s bars reopen
During lockdown, Facebook Messenger and Zoom sessions were the way to drink together. But with bars, pubs and clubs opening their doors, punters have returned to their favourite spots to catch up with old friends in person.
On Thursday, people across the country enjoyed their first pint in weeks – at least, one somewhere other than the living room.
In level 2, these establishments were sticking to the ‘‘Three S’’ rules: customers must be seated in groups no larger than 10, separated from one another and have a single server.
With many heading to work on Friday, there were no queues or packed bars. However, patrons still embraced happy hour and after-work drinks – for the first time in nearly two months.
High spirits in Invercargill
At 7pm, Invercargill’s Waikiwi tavern had about 30 patrons as people sat shoulder-to-shoulder at bar tables.
Regular Murray Heath said it had been eight weeks to the day since his last drink.
Sitting across from Heath was Neville Cleaver, who said it was good to catch up on his friends’ lives.
The customers seemed quite happy, and many of the staff even more so: many of those working were eager to pose for a photo and all seemed to be in high spirits.
Six members of the Southland Harriers had just completed their (formerly) regular five-kilometre run.
‘‘We’ve earned our beers,’’ Glenn MacIntosh said.
Back downstairs, David Parsco was catching up with Neil Johnstone and John Driver.
When asked why he had taken the first opportunity to get down to the pub, he had a simple answer: ‘‘Why not? I haven’t been able to s...-stir my mates for weeks.’’
‘Beer is what’s kept us together’
Lockdown put a halt to Gar McGregor’s Thursday night tradition of catching up with mates over a craft beer. But now, he was back at it.
‘‘We did a few Thursday sessions on Facebook Messenger but it’s not quite the same as getting together with people in the flesh,’’ McGregor said as he nursed a peach-infused beer at Hamilton’s Craft bar.
‘‘We’ve been doing our Thursday sessions for almost 10 years, so we were always going to be catching up for drinks in some way tonight.’’
Despite level 2 lockdown restrictions capping social gatherings in pubs and bars, the city’s Hood Street precinct managed to draw a steady stream of punters by 5.30pm.
McGregor and friends booked their outside table in advance, with some of the group arriving early to dine at pop-up kitchen Sage.
Nicholas Munn ordered a ‘‘delicious’’ steak tartare on crackers – a personal favourite.
But it didn’t take long for the chat and banter to drift back to beer.
‘‘As friends we all share a love of craft beer, and we come here to try new ones,’’ Munn said.
‘‘Beer is what’s kept us all together,’’ mate Peter Grantham added.
After weeks of home cooking, Hamilton friends Sandeep Kaur and Manjot Kaur were eager to dine out Thursday night.
Restrictions on crowd numbers saw them turned away from one restaurant, prompting them to head to the Bank Bar & Brasserie along Hamilton’s main drag.
‘‘Some days I’d drive to work and I wouldn’t see a single other car. It felt lonely. To see people out, and places open, makes you feel good,’’ Sandeep said.
‘‘We may have a few wines, but tonight we just wanted a break from cooking at home.
‘‘We both have early morning shifts so we won’t be out late,’’ Manjot said.
Nine-week beer drought in Taranaki
In Taranaki, Doc Brown ended his nine-week beer drought at his local, Okaura’s Butlers Reef.
Like the punters in Hamilton, he said it was great to be back with his friends.
Brown, who usually has a beer every day, decided to see how long he could last without a sip of the brew during lockdown.
‘‘I said I’d go as long as the shut down happens and then I’d go back to the pub and have a beer.’’
Butler’s Reef general manager Leeana Hughes said the bar had been busy since opening.
‘‘Normally I don’t get behind the bar but the last hour was just full on,’’ she said as people stopped in after finishing work.
‘Normal for people to feel like they can’t go out anymore’
Once the clock went slightly past 5pm, Aucklanders made their way down to Ponsonby Rd – heading straight to its upmarket bars.
Popular spots such as Longroom and Hoppers attracted decent crowds.
Spacing had been set up between the tables that lined the footpaths and groups were rarely bigger than three or four.
One waiter outside Ponsonby Central said staff were expecting a real rush yesterday.
On Karangahape Rd, Matt Hicks and Thomas Asselin were enjoying pints at Eagle Bar.
Asselin arrived in New Zealand from France just a few weeks before lockdown.
He said he stopped at Eagle Bar ‘‘randomly’’ once before and decided to return on Thursday after drinking wine at home during lockdown.
His beer only cost $6.50. Hicks said he was also glad to be at the pub and hadn’t even noticed the price. Hicks, from Australia, said having pubs open was good for the economy and for people’s mental health.
A hand sanitiser bottle was at the door and guests told to sign a register.
Hicks and Asselin said they weren’t inconvenienced. ‘‘We just try to be careful by habit,’’ the Frenchman said.
‘‘I think everyone’s just adapted now,’’ Hicks added.
Revellers were peppered elsewhere up and down K’ Rd with restaurants, pubs and a strip club open.
A few elated people shook hands with apparently long-lost friends.
At Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour, business at most pubs looked steady, though far from frantic, by 7.30pm.
At the Lula Inn, Alysha Leaning and Emily Drever were sharing a bottle of wine and enjoying what they called a return to something akin to normality.
Drever said she visited Ponsonby last week, when pubs could open only under more severe restrictions, and was shocked how quiet it was. And she wondered if the hospitality scene would ever be as busy as in the days before coronavirus.
‘‘It’s just normal for people to feel like they can’t go out anymore.’’
Leaning had her 21st birthday during lockdown.
She said that was disappointing, but she dealt with it. The lockdown helped people rearrange priorities, she said.
‘‘Which is maybe why people aren’t out tonight.’’
Positive energy in Wellington
In Wellington, people were out and about having casual drinks. The cold weather kept small groups indoors for Thursday drinks and food.
A Wellington reporter said the energy was positive and it seemed like people were gearing up for the rest of the night.
Many bars appeared to be using contact-tracing QR code reader signin services for punters wanting to enjoy drinks, and there were strict caps on group numbers.
‘Good to be back out’
For Nelson, it was a slow but steady start for its nightlife.
Visiting Taranaki tradesmen Rob, Leith and Cory were the first in at the Rattle n Hum on Bridge St at 4pm.
In town for a week for work, the trio were enjoying a beer before starting on the job yesterday.
‘‘It’s good to be back out, to be able to have a drink with friends and that,’’ Cory said. ‘‘Better than being at home staring at your four walls.
‘‘Having a drink at home isn’t the same compared to being out with friends and actually socialising.’’
At Kismet Cocktail and Whiskey Bar, co-owner Kymberley Widley said they were expecting a busy night – with most of the space booked for the next three nights.
Widley said while it was unusual to have a booking system, it was helpful to keep on top of the social distancing regulations.
‘‘It’s about making sure we have the right numbers. The key to it is people know they’ve got a fixed table, at a fixed time, for a fixed amount of people.’’
‘‘We’ve earned our beers.’’ Glenn MacIntosh
Slow start in Christchurch
The night started out slowly on Christchurch central’s popular hospitality precinct, Oxford Tce.
But by 6pm several bars had filled with patrons enjoying an afterwork beverage with several bar owners expecting to be full with bookings later in the night.
Irish national and hiking guide Cathal O’Hanlon, 24, said he could not wait to get a beer after being ‘‘cooped up for so long’’.
‘‘For lucky people, you have a nice close social bubble and you can get on with people but it gets boring after a while.’’
Business developer manager Hannah Anderson, 28, chose Craft Embassy as her bar to grab a glass of wine.
She said while the bar seemed ‘‘a little bit slower’’ and people were ‘‘a little apprehensive’’ it was still good to be back in town enjoying a drink.
The reopening was an opportunity for Christchurch businesses to ‘‘bounce back’’.
‘‘We’re quite resilient, and we’ve been here before with difficult times and, yeah, we’re very keen to come back out after work and show some support.’’
Punters unsure what to expect in Queenstown
The quietness of central Queenstown streets was reflected in bars on Thursday, with staff and punters unsure what to expect.
Surreal duty manager William Kelly said about 30 customers had turned up early on the first day of the bar and restaurant opening.
‘‘We do quite well with locals at this time of year. We’d expect to see a lot more diners when the tourists are in town.’’
Staff were ‘‘feeling’’ their way, he said.
At the nearby Sundeck, the usually crammed rooftop bar was busy but with groups of people spread to every second table.
Manager Will Prior said it was good patrons no longer had to purchase meals.
‘‘It was a bit of a faff-about. Most people had just come from dinner, but they respected what we said.’’
The quiet atmosphere was ‘‘a bit weird’’ but being open as a bar was a positive step, he said. ‘‘If this place closes we’re all out of a job.’’
Regular visitor Malcolm James was delighted to be propping up his usual spot at the bar.
‘‘It’s great to be back. I’ve really missed it. It does feel different but it’s just fun to be here,’’ he said.