Landlords at pubs across Great Yarmouth and Gorleston are polishing taps and arranging tables, one-way systems and hand sanitizer stations as venues prepare to open again after three months of lockdown.
A trip to the local won’t be the same, though, not while the country still faces the threat of coronavirus - and some landlords have urged customers to be respectful to staff.
Here is a list of some of the venues in Great Yarmouth and Gorleston re-opening on Saturday (July 4):
• The Feathers
The pub on Market Gates will be open from midday to 8pm every day with seven TVs showing various sports.
A post shared on the pub’s Facebook page has asked customers to “use their common sense”.
• Pier Tavern
The owners of the pub, sitting on Britannia Pier, have asked customers to be respectful to staff and said it will be reopening “but not exactly how you remember”.
• Peggotty’s
The bar on King Street will be seating tables for between two and six people for a minimum of two and a half hours for £30, which will be used as credit to buy drinks and food.
• Marine Pub
The seafront venue will have indoor and outdoor seating.
• Theatre Tavern
The new landlords are getting this pub, on Theatre Plain, ready for Saturday and have asked customers to be aware that “things will be very different for a while” with no seating at the bar and hand sanitising points distributed throughout the venue.
• King’s Arms
The pub on Northgate Street will be taking booking for half of its capacity, with the entrance via the side gate in the car park and the front door as the exit.
• The Albion and the Great Eastern
These two pubs, on the junction of Nelson Road Central and Albion Road, will both be welcoming customers again.
The Albion will be opening from 12pm to 8pm.
“This is largely due to the fact we feel we will not be able to offer our customers the experience they want and with the volume of people we have on Saturday nights will be very hard to control,” the landlords have said on social media.
• Rumbold Arms
The Southtown Road boozer is back in business this weekend.
• The Windmill Tavern
On High Mill Road, the pub will open from midday on Saturday for table bookings.
• Mariners Compass
This pub is on Middleton Road in Gorleston is reopening and has asked customers to “help us get through this” in an “unusual and alien” time.
• The Dukes Head,
On Hall Quay, opening at 10am with a brand new look, contactless ordering and all safety measures in place alongside a new food menu.
Opening on Monday (July 6):
• The Red Herring
On Havelock Road, this pub will open with new hours of Monday to Friday from 12pm to 3pm and 7pm to 12am, Saturday from midday to midnight and Sunday from midday to 7pm.
• The Ram Inn
New trading hours for this Brundall pub are Sunday to Thursday from midday until 9pm, Friday and Saturday from midday to 11pm seated inside the pub or 10pm if outside.
Pubs that are yet to decide:
• Liberty’s
This pub, on King Street in Great Yarmouth, will be continuing takeaways but not yet reopening.
• Mariner’s Tavern
The premises on Howard Street South has stated on social media it is delaying opening due to “concerns for the safety of our customers and staff and potential difficulties in following the current government guidelines”.
• Prince Regent Pub
The landlords of the Regent Road venue have said: “We’re waiting for further reductions in the restrictions so our customers can enjoy their drinking time.”
• King’s Wine Bar
Landlord Ellis Gee has said: “It is a small bar which makes it even more challenging and I’m not even sure yet if it will be financially viable with restricted admittance. Just going to sit it out for a while and reassess.”
• Wheelwrights Arms
Beccles Road, Gorleston
A post on the Facebook page says it will work with Environmental Health before reopening: “We have quite a bit of red tape to work through to ensure the safety of both customers and staff. We need to ensure that we do this correctly as we can not afford to be closed down once we start to operate.”
MORE: ‘Pointless opening for 20 people’ - Pubs big and small wrestle with decision to re-open• If your pub or bar is reopening, or has decided to not reopen this weekend, and you would like to be included in this list, please email daniel.hickey@archant.co.uk
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