Freedom beckons as city
City centre transformed into al fresco destination to quench the public thirst
THE pints were pouring and the tills were ringing as landlords across Birmingham raised a glass to the partial end of lockdown restrictions this week.
Al fresco drinking and cafe culture were all the order of the day in the city centre as friends were reunited over a tipple on Monday.
Thousands poured into Birmingham to shop, but many were simply glad to enjoy a pint again.
Birmingham’s hospitality sector has been in crisis since November thanks to two lockdowns and Tier 3 restrictions.
But those with the outdoor space are finally back in business.
On Waterloo Street, overlooking Victoria Square, Purecraft bar manager Matt Lockren was delighted with his first day of takings thanks to a pop-up garden he set up opposite the pub.
The venue has been closed for eight of the past 12 months, and previously had no outdoor space.
Mr Lockren said: “The council agreed to close the top of the street from 11am to 11pm every day, and we now have a dining pavement licence.
“Monday was so busy – easily busier than when we were last open on a Saturday before the November lockdown. We made three times more sales than we forecast, which was amazing.”
Purecraft’s new pop-up garden is one of several new outdoor dining spaces in the city thanks to the council and Business Improvement District (BID) teams in Southside, Westside, and Colmore Row.
Mr Lockren added: “We were at full capacity all day until 9.30pm, when it got really chilly. I think the weather will be crucial in whether the days ahead are just as busy.”
Purecraft is open from noon to 10pm and offering a limited food menu of bar snacks – sausage rolls and pork scratchings for now – but hopes to offer more in the weeks to come.
Hospitality venues are abiding by several Covid measures. They include ensuring everyone in a group of diners or drinkers checks in on the NHS’s Test and Trace app, rather than just one person as was previously the case.
And there is also a strict table service-only policy for all venues.
Boris Johnson had previously indicated that pubs could introduce Covid vaccine passports at the discretion of owners but confirmed that this would not be required in his announcement on April 5.
Mr Lockren said: “I don’t agree with vaccine passports at all. Until everyone has the opportunity to get both vaccines, there is no point. But if Boris brings vaccine passports in, we will deal with it as we’ve done with everything else.”
The well known Wellington pub in
Bennetts Hill and the Figure of Eight Wetherspoon’s in Broad Street were also very busy on Monday with punters filling up the beer gardens. Figure of Eight manager Karl Russell told the Post: “We had queues from 9am and it was great to see our garden so packed.
“Our big garden is what we are known for, and our regulars love it. Of course, post-lockdown, we are even more thankful for it as we have been able to ensure the correct social distancing.”
The Wellington’s pretty terrace is on a much smaller scale, but was just as popular.
Landlord Nigel Barker said: “We made more money in our little beer garden than we have done when the whole of the pub is open on a normal Monday.
“But nothing is really normal anymore. We have still a way to go to be at the same trading levels as we were pre-Covid.
“It will probably take us another couple of years to make up for the lockdown losses.
“Having said that, we were so much busier than when lockdown restrictions lifted last summer. I think people have had to wait twice as long to get back to the pub, and they are desperate.
“We remained busy until around 11pm before the pub closed at midnight on Monday, which is what you’d expect anyway.
“It was very chilly, but no one seemed to mind. They were happy to see their friends again. I think it will be a different story when it starts raining though.”
High-end venue Henman and Cooper, just behind Purecraft at the top of Colmore Row, celebrated its reopening by welcoming drinkers on a first-come, first-served basis from 3pm to midnight with a DJ playing Ibiza, house, and disco classics.
The bar will reopen again weekends on a ticketed basis.
Owner Wayne Tracey, who also owns Snobs nightclub in Smallbrook Queensway and neighbouring Theatrix, said: “We can do 75 covers on our rooftop terrace and we were up to full capacity on Monday right up to midnight.
“I am pleased we are able to open for the younger crowd in the city centre.
“I only wish people could dance, but we are operating within the Covid guidelines and from now we will only be open at the weekends for those with tickets. I want to take a cautious approach to make sure we do things properly.”
Henman and Cooper replaced The Bureau Bar in Colmore Row in November 2019 and was open for four months before the Covid pandemic hit the UK.
Mr Tracey added: “I was so excited to be finally opening again. And all the customers felt the same, especially as the sun was out.
“This past year has been an absolute nightmare, but this sunny weather has been a dream start.”
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We had queues from 9am and it was great to see our garden so packed. Figure of Eight manager Karl Russell