Despite the rule that Irish pubs have to wait until August to reopen, publican Charlie Chawke has said that he intends to reopen seven of his nine premises in June because said premises have restaurant licences.
The Business Post quotes Chawke as saying, "We are restaurants and have restaurant licences. But I'll abide by the same regulations as anyone else.
"Staff will wear masks and there will be screening and temperature gauges at the entrance and staff will be tested.
"Every half hour they will need to wash their hands and replace gloves."
The seven premises that Chawke intends to reopen in June are The Old Orchard Inn, The Goat, Searson's, The Bank, The Dropping Well and The Lord Lucan, all of which are in the Dublin area, and Aunty Lena's in Co. Limerick.
"Costly"
Chawke has also called for a VAT break for pubs and restaurants to help keep them in business while operating with reduced customer capacity, saying, "It would be great if we get a holiday from the VAT", and that banks "will have to step up to the plate" as well.
Chawke added, "We don't know how we're going to do from June 29. We'll spread out our tables and have capacity for 30% to 40% of our [former] business. That is what we are hoping for, but there is no guarantee.
"People will have to trust us. We'll be complying with the regulations and looking after our staff and our customers.
"It's going to be costly. Really, it's to give a service rather than to make a lot of money, and to get people back to work and get back to a bit of normality."
© 2020 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
