Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Raising a glass as more doors reopen
City drinkers and diners have been welcomed back indoors for the first time since December as the country takes another step on the way out of lockdown. The hospitality industry can now cater for its customers inside - and with this month being one of the soggiest Mays on record, the great indoors has rarely been so appealing in the late spring.
In Canterbury, city pubs, cafes and restaurants were abuzz in the early morning on Monday. By 9am, Wetherspoon regulars Bob Mcintosh and Barry Fleet were sitting comfortably - back in their favourite spot by the window at the Thomas Ingoldsby.
Bob, a former cleaning manager at the pub, said: “It’s very nice to be back, we’ve missed being inside. We’re very much part of the furniture in here as we used to work here and come in every day.
“We get here in the morning and stay probably for about five or so hours. Everyone knows us and we love speaking to people and catching up.
“We drink but we don’t get legless or anything - it’s good to be sociable. So it’s great we can now come back inside and sit in the warm in our area, rather than out in the cold and rain.” One of the busiest places in the city was Bill’s restaurant, which is now reaping the rewards of having its 100 available seats indoors.
Jan Ocean, who has been manager at the popular Rose Lane eatery for a year, said: “This Monday has been busier than any Monday before lockdown, so that’s very promising “We had a quiet flow of people to begin but by about 10am we were full up.
“It’s very nice to be back - and back welcoming a lot of customers.”
Over in Sun Street, new business Chuck and Blade Burgers was welcoming customers indoors for the very first time. Having opened just a couple of months ago, the burger joint - run by Nick Mcpherson - has already found its feet. “We’re a burger place which really caters for the dine-in experience - so to be able to have people come in is great,” he said. “It’s been really good so far. We’ve been welcomed to Canterbury and the foot traffic has been good.”
Across the city in Marlowe Arcade, Stag Coffee reopened its doors. Operations manager Steve
Rossiter said: “Business has been OK over the last couple of months. We’re very dependent on the weather being nice to have people in the high street, but we’ve ticked by. “Having indoor dining again is massive - without the indoor dining we’d struggle tremendously.”
The city’s newest eatery, German Doner Kebab, opened its doors for the first time on Monday.
It was set to launch at 11am, but those eager to try out the new menu were left waiting until the late afternoon due to a delayed opening.
GDK has taken on the former Game unit, behind the clocktower in Canterbury high street. Its arrival in the city has resulted in the creation of 25 jobs.
The new restaurant, which has seating for 50 customers, is the firm’s 57th UK branch and one of a number opening this year as part of a big expansion. GDK prides itself on offering “game-changing kebabs”, made with beef and chicken fillets imported from Germany. Further lockdown easing is expected on June 21, when all businesses including nightclubs will be able to reopen.
All social distancing measures would also be ended on this day.