Landlord laments new restrictions as doors close
Landlord’s rap as his prize bar closes its doors again
THE landlord of CAMRA’s Rossendale pub of the year has shut its doors once again, blaming Covid-19 regulations and restrictions for ‘sucking the fun’ out of the pub-going experience.
Casked Ale House & Ginporium, in Rawtenstall, is still offering takeaway and home delivery of fresh cask ale, but is currently closed to patrons after a decision taken last week.
Mike Jones, who runs the Bury Road bar with wife Amanda, says they will not reopen their doors “until things improve significantly”, with the latest tranche of restrictions - including 10pm last orders, table service only and mandatory mask wearing - threatening the viability of their business.
He said: “We decided to close on Wednesday so we didn’t have to deal with the latest tranche of restrictions and regulations. Each one of the current orders affects us in an increasingly negative way, with the end result likely to be that our business just wouldn’t be viable.
“To be open for business this week we would be limited to one household per table - effectively halving our capacity again - we would be losing a total of seven hours prime trading time at the end of our sessions, especially the 90 minutes each on Friday and Saturday when we would typically be full.”
Mike says the imposition of mask wearing unless seated was a problem for both “increasingly rule-weary” customers and staff, who would need to be masked up for 10 hours a day.
He also cited the ongoing risk of government enforced ‘circuit-breaks’, or of being shut down at short notice in the event of a positive case linked to the bar, which would mean unsold stock would have to be poured away again.
He added: “It’s so hard imposing and monitoring all the regulations. I almost got into a physical altercation last week trying to stop a group of men approaching a table of women across the bar.
“And we got sworn at almost every day by people of all age groups. Our core market is apparently getting sick of all the fun being sucked out of the experience by all the regulations and restrictions, and many are saying they’re going to stay at home.”
The business is offering a home delivery service of fresh cask ale and all its other bottles, cans and snacks as it did successfully during lockdown. Casked will also open a few hours each day Wednesday to Saturday for takeaway and collections.