Back in business!
Shops, beer gardens, salons, gyms delighted to see you all again
Scarborough shops, pub gardens, gyms and hair salons have thrown open their doors once more as the country takes another step out of lockdown. The easing of restrictions has seen scores of local businesses able to welcome customers back for the first time since the start of January.
And those customers have been keen to return. On Monday – the first day of reopening – a staggering 14,500 shoppers flocked to Scarborough’s Brunswick Shopping Centre.
That is a 40 per cent increase in customers to the centre compared to the same Monday in 2019. The centre was shut this time last year.
Brunswick Manager Sue Anderson Brown said she was delighted.
“There has been a real feelgood vibe around Brunswick,” she said. “It’s fantastic and it’s also positive news for the town centre.”
The shopping centre team had pre-empted being busy and put a host of safety measures in place including extra security and housekeeping staff.
There were queues reported outside Debenhams, opening for its final 70 per cent off clearance sale before it closes for good, and the shopping centre has been decorated with colourful streamers in tribute to the NHS.
At no time did the shopping centre exceed its capacity levels.
Shops in the rest of the town centre also reported being busy, and in Ryedale, district council staff put up colourful lampost wraps encouraging residents to stay
safe while shopping.
With pubs, cafes and restaurants only able to offer outdoor seating, customers have had to wrap up warm to enjoy their first pints and meals out of the year.
But that has not deterred people from enjoying their new found freedoms, say local business owners.
Lelde Caune, landlady at The New Lancaster on Sandside, said: “It is good to be back.
“It was quite busy on Monday and you could see people were pleased to be here.
“It was freezing during the evening but people still stayed!”
Sara Griffiths, owner of The King Richard III Restaurant on Sandside said: “It was really nice to hear a buzz of conversation and to be getting a step back to normality.”
And Sue Bell, from The Clock Cafe on South Cliff, said: “It was really cold but people were still sitting outside eating and drinking.
“People were just so pleased to be able to get out and it was nice for us to have people to talk to.”
Chairman of Scarborough Pub Watch Danny Smith said Scholar’s Bar, where he is landlord, is among those not reopening yet but he understands there are 12 pubs in Scarborough town centre that have, and more in the rest of the borough.
“Publicans are excited and really making an effort to get things going,” he said.
“There are some that can’t open or who don’t want to because it’s not financially viable but there is a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel.”
Gym goers are once again able to get back into their fitness routines, as gyms and indoor swimming pools reopen.
Scarborough Sports Village, which is managed by sports and leisure operator Everyone Active in partnership with Scarborough Borough Council, is encouraging customers to download their app to enable them to book in easily.
Form 360, a functional fitness gym on Clifton Street, said in a Facebook post: “Absolutely over the moon to be back, falling in love with coaching once again.”