Brains pubs to stay shut as they are ‘waiting to reopen fully’

Alistair Darby

PUB chain Brains will not be re-opening any of its venues in Wales on Monday, the date on which the Welsh Government has said bars, restaurants and cafes can begin serving the public again outdoors.

A spokesman for the pub chain said it wanted customers to be able to use all of the facilities in its pubs.

But the Welsh Government decision last week means venues are still barred from serving people indoors, despite the fact pubs in England can now welcome people inside.

Some pubs in England have, however, been forced to close once more, after people tested positive for coronavirus.

A statement released by Brains yesterday said: “During lockdown we have been working incredibly hard to be ready to re-open our pubs indoors and outdoors safely for the benefit of our team members and customers.

“We are waiting to be given a date and guidelines for the full re-opening of pubs from the Welsh Government, which we hope will be as soon as possible.

“We want our customers to be able to use all of the facilities in our pubs come rain or shine and to receive a warm welcome back in safe surroundings.

“We will not be able to do that by opening outdoors only from 13th July and so we will not open any of our managed pub gardens on that date.

“We really look forward to welcoming back our customers when we are given the green light to open fully. Thank you for your patience and loyalty.”

The news may not come as a shock as CEO of the Welsh firm, Alistair Darby, revealed last week that its pubs would “struggle” to restock in time.

The 53-year-old also shared his frustration at the lack of time to prepare, how it wanted pubs to fully re-open soon and that plans to sell off 40 sites were effectively on hold.

Brains is not the only chain that will not be re-opening in Wales next week.

Wetherspoons has said it will only re-open its pubs in Wales “when they can fully do so”.

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