A strange anniversary as landlords reopen pub

LOCKDOWN PUT CELEBRATIONS ON HOLD, BUT PAIR KEPT BUSY

TWO county landlords have celebrated their first year of running a pub – but not in the way they had originally planned.

Gary O’Connor and Simon Edwardson-Gilchrist were due to mark their first year at the Free Trade Inn in Sileby by holding a week of events, but these had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We had planned for a celebration with a beer festival, barbecues, a dog show with agility course, live comedy, a darts tournament and lots of live entertainment,” said Gary, who has worked in pubs for more than 20 years.

“The money raised from these events would have been donated to our charity of the year, which is the Make A Wish Foundation.

“Instead, we celebrated our first year by having a few quiet drinks together,” said Simon, who is a chef by trade.

“We also had a lot of messages from our regulars wishing us a happy anniversary, which was nice.”

The duo remain positive after the pub reopened yesterday.

They have had the whole pub professionally deep cleaned and are following all of the guidance from the government on how best to open safely for their staff and customers.

“It has been a strange three months but it’s time to welcome back our fantastic customers. We can’t fault Everards for the way they have conducted themselves though all this. The support from every member of the team has been first class,” said Gary.

“We are really looking forward to seeing all our customers again,” said Simon. “We have all safety measures in place. Our main concern was that our customers can enjoy our venue and feel safe to do so.”

There will be a one-way system in and out of the pub, with hand-sanitiser stations at the entrance and exit as well as sanitiser stations dotted around the premises.

The pair have extended their outside

AT YOUR SERVICE: Gary O’Connor and Simon Edwardson-Gilchrist area with new seating and gazebos and are in the process of setting up an app for customers to order drinks. Table service will be available inside and outside, which will reduce the queues and reduce the through-traffic within the pub.

All tables have been measured out to comply with the government’s social distancing rules and screens have been fitted to the bar.

While the pub has been closed for the past three months, Gary and Simon launched a weekly market in the car park, inviting local independent businesses to set up a stall and trade to the village while adhering to social distancing measures.

“We have kept ourselves busy through the lockdown doing all the little jobs that we usually don’t get time for,” said Gary. “We’re confident we’ve done all we can to keep everyone safe, leaving us all to have a good time and get back to some kind of normal. The pub is such a huge part of people’s lives and we have loved getting to know our customers. It’s been strange wandering round an empty pub. We are ready to welcome some friendly faces back!”

It’s been strange wandering round an empty pub. We are ready to welcome some friendly faces back!