Back to business after lockdown
Relief for pubs, restaurants, bingo halls and cinemas
Bingo halls, cinemas and indoor leisure reopened their doors last week after a long closure.
Regulars couldn’t wait to get back doing what they love; be it getting the popcorn ready ahead of a new film, eagerly waiting for their last number to be called or working up a sweat in a gym class.
Mecca Bingo Ayr were not only celebrating pulling up the shutters to welcome back players but reopening month also marked the original Bingo brand’s 60th birthday.
With all eyes on the leisure sector to help drive people back into the local area, Mecca Ayr- who donated festive hampers to families in need at Christmas- say that their community led brand, alongside new ways to play and win in store, will see them bounce back after a difficult year.
Christopher Morrice, General Manager at Mecca Bingo Ayr, said: “We’re incredibly excited to welcome people back.
“We’re a friendly face in the community – that’s a really unique part of our brand and heritage – we know and love our customers very much and we’re very active in the area when it comes to community initiatives.
“We’ve really missed being a part of people’s day to day lives.
“And this year as it’s our big birthday, we’re coming back in style with more to offer than ever - we’re expecting this to be the year of bingo!”
Popcorn was at the ready as Ayr’s ODEON cinema invited back film buffs to turn off their phones, finish their conversations and get ready for the big screen.
The cinema on Burns Statue Square is still being used as a remote jury centre during the week, to help ease the backlog of court cases due to Covid-19, and will project new releases at the weekend.
ODEON area manager Paul Hills says the team were excited to be back doing what they do best.
He said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be reopening at the weekends.
“ODEON Ayr is an important pillar of the local community, and our team are excited to finally welcome guests back to experience the joy of the big screen once again.”
Pubs without beer gardens and those who don’t offer food breathed a sign of relief as they got the green light to serve a cold one indoors.
Newmarket Street’s drinking hole Wee Windaes raised a glass to welcoming their regulars back.
Boss Jim McSherry said: “It’s going well- it’ll take time as we’ve still got limited numbers but we’re doing everything by the rules.
“We’ve decorated the place and got it all spick and span.
“The main thing is we’re open and we’re getting our regulars in.
“It’s great to see their faces again. We know they’ve been missing us and we’ve been missing them.”
Luxury five-star hotel Glenapp Castle, near Ballantrae, also couldn’t wait to welcome back guests after months of closure.
Managing Director Jill Chalmers previously led a campaign for change on behalf of the hospitality industry last year, as she, alongside over 100 hoteliers who signed the campaign, grappled with tight restrictions on the industry including a ban on the sale of alcohol.
But now the Glenapp team are keen to face the ‘new normal’ head on to ensure guests have a relaxing stay.
And they are looking forward to introducing new additions including the eagerly awaited The Endeavour- the hotel’s brand new self-contained penthouse castle apartment, which boasts a media room, sauna, library, and a games room.
Jill Chalmers said: “We are thrilled to be reopening. Despite a year of uncertainty, we are storming ahead with new bookings for 2021 and 2022.
“With our new penthouse suite, more exciting activities added to our Experiences Programme, our new restaurant and event space, we can’t wait to welcome back our guests for what we hope will be a busy and exciting summer and beyond!”
Fitness fanatics were back getting their sweat on together with the return of indoor group
classes last week.
Livfit Ayrshire Training Academy managed to have their new premises, on Viewfield Road in Ayr, ready for reopening on April 26, having only received the keys three weeks prior, and up until last week were running classes outdoors come rain or shine.
Co-owner Linzi Noble, who runs the gym with partner Ricci Carrino, said: “The first week of indoor classes have been amazing. We are happy to be back indoors as we feel we’ve got more equipment, more things to play with. Reopening has been way better and less stressful than we thought it would be.
“In the run up to opening up we got the keys to our unit on April 1 so we had three weeks to get ready for April 26. We managed to do it- just. We were there until after midnight getting the place finished but we managed to open at 6am. We’ve had lots of new faces come through the door.
“We are very blessed to have the members we do. We do believe the people are what make it.”
We’ve really missed being a part of people’s day to day lives Christopher Morrice