CAFES, PUBS & RESTAURANTS RE-OPEN
THE TAPAS BAR
TODAY is the day that so many businesses in the hospitality industry have been waiting for. The opening of indoor spaces at pubs, bars, restaurants, cafés across Wales has been a welcome development for the hospitality industry as it fights its way back from the coronavirus lockdown.
But the re-opening won’t see things back to normal any time soon.
One-way systems, reduced numbers of covers, more staff, and even thermal imaging means that a dinein experience will look a little bit different for the time being. We spoke to several businesses about what it’s meant for them.
THE PUB
At The Philharmonic in Cardiff thermal-imaging cameras are the tip of the post-Covid iceberg when it comes to pub life.
Now a part of normal life, there’s the one-way system mapped out around the bar, which reopened in 2017 after a huge refurb.
That refurb stood the place in good stead and, as manager Nick Newman tells us, they are ready to re-open and look forward to giving confidence to the customers and their staff.
“We’ve kept ourselves pretty busy analysing what the Welsh and UK governments have said about the hospitality sector and giving the place a good old deep clean,” said Nick.
“We’ve made structural adjustments to secure a one-way system around the building – that includes making a former staff-only staircase accessible to the one-way system.
“Probably the most eye-catching thing will be the installation of the thermal imaging cameras.”
Nick goes on to explain that a screen will scan people as they come into the pub and a host at the door will be there to monitor the temperatures and check that no-one’s is too high.
“We just think it’s a really good indicator to customers and staff that we are taking the coronavirous seriously,” he added.
“It will look a bit different but the legislation requires it to. It might be generalising but people are being conscientious about following the guidance and I don’t expect it to be any different. I’ve seen some of the places that have opened outside, those that have done takeaways, and pretty much everybody’s adhered to it.”
With the space they have at the Philly they’ve even managed to increase their numbers of tables and chairs and are more or less fully booked for when they re-open.
However there’s one thing people won’t be able to do and that’s have a good old boogie on the dancefloor downstairs so that’s where some of the extra seating has gone.
So will the pubs see jovial times again? Nick hopes so.
“Initially people will be feeling their way back into places. I’ve already seen – with the limited outside opening – the uptake, people waiting for a table outside. They are keen to get back. And it’s also about confidence for customers to come back indoors.
“And hopefully we’ll be able to get back to the good old days of the customers having a sing song a bit of a knees up.”
Just down the road from The Philharmonic is Curado, a slim, compact, and vibrant bar that is known and loved for its intimate Spanishstyle dining with big groups sharing tapas and some good wine.
But now, as lockdown eases, Curado will have to look a little different.
As luck would have it at the start of the year they filled in a void that sat above the bar, making the top floor larger, and now it can be a socially-distanced dining area for more people.
Manager Teej Down spoke about the limits on the space at Curado and how they were getting around things.
“I am very glad we [filled the void] now,” she said. “It’s been a bit of a saving grace for now.
“Downstairs is very problematic because it does bottleneck as you come in and tables down there will be extremely limited, probably two tables of two, and we’ll have no one by the bar.”
It’s a real change from when the venue would be teeming with regulars crowded together in the window seats or gathered at the bar.
“We could fit probably about 50 covers downstairs with the bar as well. Because we filled the gap we can have about six tables up there now and we can get 30-36 covers. But our capacity up there would have dropped by a third up there really.”
Fortunately Teej had prepared Curado – which is the sister bar of Ultracomida in Narberth and Aberystwyth, both of which are open outdoors – ahead of lockdown by starting deliveries. That will continue now as well as shoppers being able to go into Curado to pick up their deli items.
The shop will have one door, manned, and the restaurant area will be served by a different door.
“It will help our trade if we can do two together [deliveries and sit-ins] then yes, it is absolutely worthwhile opening,” added Teej.
“There are some customers that I think are quite concerned, and rightly so, and there are some champing at the bit to get out and have some sort of normal-ish existence.”
The Curado regulars have been great, she added, and have understood the measures taken to keep everyone safe. The bar will serve a reduced menu to stop waste and the venue’s regular ‘Meet the Producers’ evenings, carried out online during lockdown, will continue for the rest of the year, while hole in the walltype sister bar Vermut will also reopen.
But Teej is certainly looking forward to welcoming back her diners.
“One thing this pandemic has taught us is how to be flexible and how to be creative. The toughest thing is that it’s been an emotional rollercoaster for most of us.
“The interaction with people, the best bit of hospitality, that disappeared.”
THE COFFEE SHOP
As for Iced Cake Parlour, in Maesteg, the little cake and coffee shop has had to overcome a lot of alteration and change over the past few months.
The business has been running in Talbot Street for around four years and is used to welcoming customers with open arms, offering them a freshly-baked cake and a comforting cuppa.
The popular parlour was originally located in the market where customers could purchase cakes, brownies and other delicious treats to take home.
But the current venue has allowed the owners to turn their business into a coffee shop, where customers can sit and relax while enjoying a hot
drink and a freshly-baked cake. However, over the past few months, this hasn’t quite been the case.
As the shop doors have been mostly closed during the coronavirus pandemic staff have missed the opportunity to catch up with the local regulars and have also longed to see the return of that buzzing atmosphere you’d normally expect to see at a little Welsh coffee shop where it’s so full you can’t move.
Owner Ceri Simmons, 33, said it had been a lot less hustle and bustle and more of a severe reduction in hours as the pandemic hit but they have tried to keep things going as much as they can.
Ceri said: “We closed for around two weeks and then we opened back up. We opened then on Fridays and Saturdays – for cakes, cupcakes, brownies, and things like that.
“We did that for a couple of weeks and then we opened back up about five or six weeks ago. People are starting to go out and about a bit now.”
The cut in hours was a big thing for Ceri. As someone who was used to working between six and seven days a week it was strange for her to only be working on Fridays and Saturdays.
Not to mention the shop will be looking a little different when it finally gets to re-open indoors properly for the first time. Ceri said they intend to open indoors from this Friday and from then the business will be open on weekdays too.
But the re-opening of the indoor facilities will come with a lot of change including fewer tables to enable social distancing, a walkway system, and sanitising stations as well as all the necessary measures and PPE staff will have to wear.
There will also be a ‘clock in and clock out’ book for customers to sign when they visit.
“We’re missing our regulars,” added Ceri. “We have some older customers who come here – people from Maesteg who always come in.
“We want people to enjoy the coffee shop.
“I’m looking forward to getting busy – that lunch-time rush hour when you’re really busy – so I’m looking forward to that, really, and to people coming back in.”
The Ivy has been a popular spot for visitors in Cardiff ever since it first opened its doors.
What is still a relatively new addition to the city centre very quickly became the go-to place for people who wanted to celebrate special occasions, treat themselves to a fancy brunch, or simply make the most of a venue that is easily Instagrammable.
But, while style and sophistication remains key for the business, customers’ health and safety will now be at the forefront of everything following the pandemic.
Measures will include thermal cameras for temperature checks, the use of tracking software for all employees logging daily temperature readings over a seven-day rolling period, and professional deep cleaning and disinfecting on a daily basis.
General manager Matt Glister said: “Myself and all of the staff are extremely excited to be opening once again on Monday.
“We can’t wait to welcome back our regular guests and members of the community who we have greatly missed over the last few months.
“The team are also looking forward to being united again on the restaurant floor and in the kitchen whilst maintaining a safe distance at all times.”