Ouseburn pubs back in business
THE Ouseburn valley’s thriving pub scene is gradually coming back to life after 15 weeks lying dormant.
The Newcastle suburb has long been the city’s cultural hub – and one of its best drinking spots to boot – and has been sorely missed by many during lockdown.
While some restrictions on the industry eased on Saturday, several bars in the area decided not to reopen ahead of what some worried could be a day of mayhem.
Instead, worried about how an influx of drinkers could make social distancing and crowd management difficult, a number of bars reopened their doors yesterday.
While it might not exactly be business as usual, Ouseburn bars owners are confident they can help people enjoy a pint the sunshine safely this summer.
Fenced off beer gardens, table booking systems and regular hand washing are all being used to help keep Ouseburn pubs Covid-secure and ensure they stay open long-term.
Mick Potts, manager of the Free Trade Inn, said they’re still preparing for a full reopening but their beer click-and-collect service continues to thrive thanks to punters supporting the independent pub.
He said: “There’s been a mixture of regular customers and new faces using the service – people seem to have gotten a bit more experimental with their beer tastes too and buying stuff I didn’t expect to be as popular.
“The Ouseburn is brilliant, it’s the cultural hub of Newcastle – I just hope everybody is alright after the last few months.
“Six weeks ago everyone was worried we might not be able to open into October or November and going from one winter into another would have been tough. At least it looks like we’re all going to get some summer now.”
Brinkburn Street Brewery reopened on Saturday successfully thanks to a booking system, operations manager James Richardson said.
He added: “We’ve managed to keep trading throughout by doing takeaway beer and delivering Sunday lunches, which has meant we’ve been able to avoid furloughing a lot of our staff.
“Visually and verbally, we tell people buying our beer not to drink it around here and we’ve put a toilet token system in place to help prevent public urination.”
The Cluny, a bar and music venue, decided against reopening on Saturday but was back up and running yesterday afternoon.
With live music banned under Government rules, it’s been doubly tough for establishments like this one but it’s hoped a £1.5bn support package announced this week will help keep them going.
Owner Julian Ive said: “We decided not to open on Saturday, we thought it would be mayhem.
“Now we’ve got all the safety measures in place and we’ve spent the past month decorating so we’re ready to go.
“It’s good to see the place come back to life – when I was coming in to check on it over the last few months and it was dark and cold inside it was very depressing.
“Hopefully we’re going to benefit from the new Government funding, the initial news is extremely positive.