More steady than super
It was more of a steady Saturday than a super Saturday as many seafront businesses reported manageable numbers on the first day of trading since the country went into lockdown.
There were fears that July 4 would cause chaos after the Government announced pubs, restaurants and hotels could reopen their doors, but well-managed booking and social distancing procedures meant that the businesses we spoke to in Roke rand Sea burn on Saturday afternoon hadn’t encountered problems so far.
At the Roker Hotel, they’d hoped to have a large beer garden in the front car park. Drizzly weather put paid to that, but inside a steady stream of bookings adhered to social distancing measures including using Poetic License hand sanitiser, which is made at the on-site distillery, a one-way system and disposable menus.
Operations director at The Roker Hotel, Jonathan Graham said: “Everyone here today is a booking with three hours lots and only every other table in use at one time.
“Everyone has their details taken when booking and can scan a QR code when they enter. We want to show people we’re a safe and responsible site. You can’t put profit first in a situation like this.
“We’ve had no problems and aren’t anticipating any, everyone is adhering to the rules. I think there was a lot of hype about Super Saturday and that it was going to be like New Year’s Eve but it hasn’t been like that at all.
"People are still cautious and I think weekends will get busier as consumer confidence returns.”
Down the road, regulars were keen to get back to The Promenade, but staff admit social distancing is a difficult adjustment to make.
Rob O’Donoghue, manager, said :“Re opening after lock down has been more stressful than opening a new bar and Christmas and we only had two weeks to prepare.
“It’s difficult because people are wanting to get up and do their own thing, but it’s table service only .” The Grand in Sea burn has been open for key workers during lock down, but it can now take bookings from the public.
General manager Dean Routledge said: “Bedroom bookings have been really positive and we’ re looking forward to a good July. We’ re hoping that the stay cation market will see us through the next couple of months.
“In Sunderland, we have the added bonus of guests beingable to walk out of the hotel and be on the beach and hopefully the nice weather will return. Safety measures at the hotel include screen sat reception, sanitiser zone sand staff thoroughly clean rooms beforeand after stays, but do not enter during someone’s visit.”
Kids will be happy that S eldon’ s Leisure World is back open.
“Safety measures in place include staff on the door, sanitisation zones throughout, Perspex screens and a one-way system.
LindseyNoble,co-ownerat
S eldon’ s said :“Some staff were a little worried about coming back, but we’ve implemented a lot of safety measures. We only have one staff member on the floor at a time and the other staff are behind new screens and that’s helped them to feel secure.”
Co-owner Grant Seldon added: “People are apprehensive but that’s to be expected. We’ve done a lotto make peoplesafe and confidence breeds confidence. We can only offer guidelines, people have to use common sense too.”