What it has been like for Warrington pub trade in first week back

The government’s ‘roadmap’ saw Covid rules ease this week with hospitality venues being able to serve customers in beer gardens for the first time in months.

So we paid a visit to Centre Park, the town centre and Latchford to get a sense of what this turning point has been like for hard hit pubs with visitors very keen to get their first post lockdown pint.

Amanda Crilly was preparing for a busy day ahead as we arrived in the morning.

Daniel and Amanda Crilly

The Waterside’s pub team of 35 have all returned to work for the first time in 2021.

They closed on Christmas Day and have since been waiting for the third lockdown to lift.

Amanda said: “I have had more time off now than I had on maternity with any of my children because of the furloughs.”

It seems their customers have been waiting too because on Monday the pub had 200 people booked in.

Amanda and her husband Daniel have a system in place where customers can book the tables under cover while the rest of the outdoor seating is for walk-ins. Altogether there is room for about 320.

She said: “Pretty much the rest of the week is that busy and on Friday and Saturday all of the covered tables are pre-allocated.

“I’m excited to get reopened and all the team are excited to get back to work as well.

“I’m a little bit anxious in terms of people being able to come for drinks only this time around but we’ll manage and make sure we’re on it in terms of being Covid safe.”

Another change is that everyone aged 16 and over now has to check in with NHS Test and Trace while visiting hospitality venues.

“But when it’s a nice day and with table service it’s going to feel like people are on holiday,” added Amanda.

Talking of holidays, Golden Square director Ian Cox recently described Old Market Square as like a European plaza.

That is the vibrancy the shopping centre team are going for with a new outdoor eating and drinking area which seats around 250.

By mid morning on Monday it was already packed with many having their first draught pint of 2021 from Flanagans Irish Bar.

Leah Pritchard, of Flanagans in Golden Square

Leah Pritchard said: “It’s just nice to see people out and about or relaxing. I think everyone’s enjoying literally being out and having someone to talk to.

“We opened early because people were coming over and we were ready.

“When we first came back after the first lockdown it was a bit surreal because it was like a ghost town.

“But it’s really nice now. There’s a nice atmosphere today with the sun shining and it’s nice to see our neighbours again. We’ve all missed each other.

“We’ve got the whole team back in today. We’ve got a few more staff coming in at 3pm as we’re thinking it will get busier when people finish work.”

Leah has been busy through the crisis as she got another job when Flanagans shut.

She added: “I’m very lucky as during the first lockdown I got a job in the Co-op.

“To be honest I’m used to being mad, crazy busy and I can’t do sitting around.”

It was also a big day for Alex Wright, landlord of The Cheshire Cheese in Latchford, who said last year it felt like his pub was being driven out of existence.

The 2020 lockdowns and tiered Covid restrictions which only allowed pubs that offered a substantial meal to open meant the Knutsford Road pub was closed for almost half a year.

Alex Wright with his regulars at the Cheshire Cheese

Alex was in a much more buoyant mood when we caught up with him on Monday.

With music blasting out from the bar, there were smiles all around in the beer garden with old regulars making up for lost time.

Alex said: “It’s terrific to be open. This lockdown has been horrible compared to the one last year – only because it’s been the winter and it’s been dark and depressing and I’ve not been able to see anybody.

“So hopefully we’re out of it now. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel. More restrictions are being lifted next month and then again the month after.

“We’ve already got bands booked in for the summer. Fingers crossed that we’re moving in the right direction. It’s just great to be open.”

Alex also said he was delighted with the response to the pub reopening. He had around 70 through the doors in the first two hours.

He added: “People were beating down the door at 2pm. It’s great to see some of the old faces back.”

Supplying the pubs once again is Latchford’s independent brewery 4Ts. Owner John Wilkinson is cautiously optimistic about the months ahead but has his concerns.

“We’re about 70 per cent back to what we were before the pandemic,” he said.

“Small pack beers and delivering to people’s homes is what’s kept us going. Everyone’s had man caves or garden bars during the lockdown.

4Ts head brewer Jordan Millington

“It’s exciting that beer gardens have reopened and it’s about time but it’s still very difficult for a lot of pubs.

“Of the seven pubs my brother Mike owns I think there’s only one that’s been able to open up and that’s the Post House.

“I don’t see what the difference is between getting your hair cut and sitting next to people in a salon and sitting in a pub.

“Some pubs we work with have chosen not to open because there’s still a lot of fear.

“The question they’re asking is: ‘Are we going to open for these four weeks and then it’s going to change leaving us with a lot of beer?’”

4Ts had to adapt as soon as the first lockdown kicked in.

John, who originally started home brewing in his garage in Rydal Avenue a decade ago, added: “In week one we went from producing cask and keg for pubs to being completely small pack.

“We were canning and bottling everything we had. We installed a new brew kit in December 2019 and it’s still not been used to its potential because of the current situation.

“But it’s given us the time to experiment a little. We’ve just been working on some barrel aged beers.

“In the business we’re in we can’t complain because we’ve kept going. It’s quiet because a lot of the pubs are still not open.

“There is a light at the end of the tunnel – we’ve just got to hope that light doesn’t disappear.”