Landlord in call for Covid-19 compliant pubs to reopen now

GLOUCESTERSHIRE publican Rob Collins is campaigning for the Government to allow pubs that have put in Covid-19 compliant systems to open now.

Rob, of The Farmers Arms near Tewkesbury, has invested in occupancy control, a menu and drinks ordering system and a garden kitchen with an Italian pizza oven to help his business recover.

He has installed a Sintuitive occupancy control system that monitors numbers in and out and sets an occupancy threshold displayed at the entrance. He has also installed another Sintuitive system to ensure a one in/out occupancy for the toilets.

Every table has been given a QR code so customers can scan the code with their own phone to order and pay for drinks and food from the MenuConnect software. This flashes up orders in the kitchen and bar – so avoiding any congestion at the bar and eliminating the need for customers to touch any kind of paper menu.

“I now have all the systems in place to fully operate within the social distancing guidelines so why on earth can I not open,” said Rob.

“Every day I am losing more and more money. I want to open. The fact people can now sit in socially distant groups in parks, why can’t they at least sit in my beer garden and order drinks and food from their phones?”

Neil Westwater, of MenuConnect, is finding thousands of restaurants, cafes and pubs are similarly prepared.

He said: “We believe many of our clients, from cafes to restaurant chains, are as ready as they ever can be and many are seeing opportunities in the technologies now available.”