Landlady disappointed as reopening of her pub put back
THE landlady of an award-winning pub in Burton has spoken of her disappointment after she took the decision to wait and not reopen next week.
Amanda Addis, landlady at The Coopers Tavern in Cross Street, announced that the pub will not be able to reopen from April 12, as the next stage of coronavirus restrictions are lifted.
Pubs and restaurants can reopen to customers for the first time since lockdown began in January, serving them in outdoor areas, like beer gardens only.
She said: “I’ve only got a small outdoor area. We cannot rely on the weather either as we do not have any cover. We looked at every option built. In the end we took the decision that we would reopen when people were allowed to sit inside, which is set to be May 17.
“We want people to feel comfortable and if the weather is poor then people will not want to sit outside.
“Currently in our ale yard, there are four benches, which could probably fit five people on them; I took the decision to delay the opening.”
As part of the Government’s lockdown road map, pubs are set to reopen for outdoor hospitality from Monday, alongside non-essential retail.
The Coopers Tavern, which won a national award in 2019, has been closed since the start of the coronavirus lockdown earlier this year. It is a real ale pub, serving some ales straight from the cask.
Amanda, who has run the pub for the last four years has spoken about what the past year has been like.
She said: “We were disappointed when we had to close earlier this year. We have five on the team and we are wanting to reopen as soon as we can.
“When pubs were able to reopen in the summer of last year, we managed quite well. We had phenomenal support from the locals and we had the message get through the community that our pub was safe and we were glad that we managed to get people through the doors.
“All our staff will abide by the national rules and the team is not being difficult by asking for your track and trace details. We are doing what we have to do.
“It is disappointing that we cannot reopen next week. We are a part of the community and we want to welcome everybody back.
“I am generally optimistic for the reopening. I think it will go well as people generally want to go back to some form of normality, but I think we can only hope.”