Blow for pubs closing early on one of the biggest nights of the year
STAFF ARE OFF BECAUSE OF COVID
pubs in Derby were forced to close early on New Year’s Eve due to Covid and staffing problems on what is one of the biggest nights of the year.
The Honeycomb in Ladybank Road, Mickleover, and The Vine, in Uttoxeter Road, Mickleover, both made the announcements on their respective Facebook pages yesterday.
Seven of The Honeycomb’s nine staff have caught Covid since it opened to customers on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, with the pub already shut by mid-afternoon yesterday. The Vine was set to close at 11pm last night due to lack of staff availability.
Alan Richardson, owner of The Honeycomb, said that he has had to cancel a sell-out party of more than 140 people, meaning they have lost out on thousands of pounds.
He said: “We opened Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, all of the staff wore masks, but from that day they went down one by one, the last one going down yesterday.
“Tonight we have a party of 140 people. My wife has Covid, I haven’t, but I can’t open the pub on my own. So we made a very heartfelt decision to close today, and we won’t reopen until Monday.
“It’s come as a massive shock as it’s our biggest night of the year. We’re talking thousands [of pounds lost]. Obviously we closed last year, due to Covid and lockdown, but the year before it was a huge night. It’s one of those things. I’d rather be safe, for staff, and more so my customers.
“What you take in one day you lose in another. I’m more disappointed for our customers, who have supported us all year. It’s their night. But hopefully we will try to do a new year in the middle of January, once we get back up and running. I’m just waiting to see what the GovernTWO ment do after Christmas and we’ll make arrangements from there.
“We’ve seen a massive increase in trade, but again what you gain on building up, you can lose very quickly over the next few days. “Trying to stock the pub with ales and spirits, not knowing whether the following day you will close, it has been a challenge this year, but we’ve had fantastic support from all of our regular customers.” Customers responding to the popular pub’s Facebook post said they were “gutted” to see it close but many were sympathetic with the decision and sent staff their best wishes.
The sudden closure on Friday has also had a knock-on effect on pubs around the village, with The
Vine also announcing it would be closing early.
Its manager, Tom Marshall, said that New Year’s Eve is normally a quiet time and despite trying to get more staff in to help cater for an anticipated rush of customers, no one was available beyond the two that had been put on the rota.
He said: “Normally on New Year’s Eve we are not too busy, so I staffed it up to what I normally would, and only put two staff on.
“But with other pubs closing, there is the likelihood that we would be a bit busier than we normally are, so we tried to call other staff in – some can’t, some can, but some want to see in the New Year with their family. I can’t really argue with that, so we made the decision to shut at 11pm so people can be back with their families. “We’ve not been too bad [with Covid] but I know other pubs have been struggling with it. We’ve got through unscathed in this period, but we had some staff a few months ago getting Covid.” The closures will prove a huge blow in what is a vital night of trading for pubs up and down the country.
It comes as Covid cases continue to surge over the festive period due to the spread of the new Omicron variant.
It’s come as a massive shock as it’s our biggest night of the year. We’re talking thousands lost.
Alan Richardson