Northern Ireland

Face masks, smiles and selfies with pints as pubs reopen

A staff member wearing a visor while serving pints at the Morning Star in central Belfast. Picture by Mal McCann
A staff member wearing a visor while serving pints at the Morning Star in central Belfast. Picture by Mal McCann A staff member wearing a visor while serving pints at the Morning Star in central Belfast. Picture by Mal McCann

STEPPING inside pubs reopening for the first time since March, it becomes instantly clear the experience will be rather different to what went before.

Protective visors and masks obscure the faces of staff in Belfast's Maverick bar, our first call on a whistle-stop pub crawl.

The venue on Union Street, in the city's popular 'LGBT Quarter', is one where you usually gravitate directly towards the bar to order some drinks.

But heading over, we were soon reminded it is now table service only – a social distancing necessity for all newly-reopened pubs.

Transparent screens partition the seating booths, a one-way entrance and exit system is in operation, and customers on arrival are asked to sanitise their hands.

To allow the indoor licensed premises to reopen, Maverick has also developed a food offering for punters in the form of 'gorge boards'.

"We have quite a lot of bookings for tonight," security manager Jake Ferris said.

"I think people are missing the experience of being out, and missing their friends and being in a bar atmosphere.

"It's just a lot for everybody to get used to."

Marketing manager Aaron Eakin (40) said that while the pub experience "will be different", he believes people will be "in good spirits" from the reopening.

"Everyone is eager to get out. Since we have announced the reopening we have been overwhelmed with messages of support and goodwill."

While Maverick was gearing up for the evening, in the Cathedral Quarter some pubs were already showing a swift return of trade.

By early afternoon, many of the tables at the Thirsty Goat were already occupied.

Bar supervisor Jamie Devlin said most had been pre-booked, with the pub operating a three-hour limit on retaining a table.

"It's actually been great. Everyone is being oddly compliant," the 26-year-old said.

After months of shuttered doors, the Cathedral Quarter is beginning regain its vibrant nightlife, but not all pubs have taken the opportunity to reopen just yet.

Willie Jack is one of the owners of the Duke of York, Harp Bar and Dark Horse – three venues which occupy a large chunk of the cobbled Hill Street.

The businessman, who expects his customer capacity to be halved, said he is waiting for a date which will allow indoor pubs to open without the requirement of serving food.

"We're sensible people here. I don't understand the logic of equating people who eat food with their behaviour," the 59-year-old said.

Outside the Morning Star, customers were happily chatting as staff wearing visors and gloves served drinks on trays.

Sitting on a picnic-style bench in the alleyway, mother and daughter Karen Hobson (46) and Toni Croft (29) took a break from shopping to enjoy some Harp.

"Everybody is loving their life," said Ms Croft. "Everyone is taking selfies with their drinks.

"I'm not going to lie – I did it too."

Ms Hobson said they had some drinks at home during lockdown, but were enjoying returning to a pub setting.

"The atmosphere is just so different, being out at a pub – it just tastes so much better," she said.

Over at Bittles Bar beside Victoria Square, regular customers were also returning to their old haunt.

With the need to offer food, owner John Bittles (59) grinned as he showed off his special menu for the Twelfth – with all options priced at "£16.90".

"When you're closed for 15 weeks you don't know what's coming to your door, but every single person I have seen out today has been a regular, so it has been all good," he said.

Mr Bittles said it was "good to get opened" but "it's going to be unsustainable in the long term".

"Going forward, this isn't the way to go. Places are glad to be open, glad to get people in again, but that's not going to do the job," he said.