STAFF and customers at East Renfrewshire’s pubs and restaurants will be raising their glasses today as the hospitality sector gets a much-needed boost.
After almost four months of lockdown, people can now sit inside bars and eateries again.
The move, which comes nine days after beer gardens were given the green light to welcome customers, is another step towards recovery for an industry left badly damaged by the coronavirus crisis.
And, for the team at The Brig Inn, in Barrhead, it comes as a huge relief.
Nicky Gauld, who is among those looking forward to seeing familiar faces at the popular watering hole, in Cross Arthurlie Street, said: “We are properly opening up now and are really looking forward to it.
“All the staff are happy to be back at work. It’s almost like starting a new job.”
Customers and staff alike will need to get used to some changes, with pubs and restaurants only able to reopen if they introduce physical distancing and hygiene measures to help keep Covid-19 at bay.
Nicky said: “We’re used to customers coming up to the bar and serving them but now it’s table service.
“Customers have to be sitting down. Nobody is allowed to be standing up, with no-one coming to the bar.
“They have all been so good and understanding about everything that is going on. We can’t thank our customers enough.”
Stuart Peacock, owner of the Uplawmoor Hotel, is also delighted to see lockdown restrictions being eased.
He said: “We’re planning to be open for five days a week – from Wednesday right through to Sunday – and we have a lot of our regulars booked in for a bite to eat.
“We welcomed quite a few locals from the village to our beer garden over the weekend and it was lovely to see some friendly faces and every table was full.
“We have also been quite proactive with our takeaway food, which we started from pretty much the night we had to shut, so our kitchens haven’t closed. It built up quite a following and we are keen to keep that up, especially for those who were shielding and can’t return just yet.
“It will be great to get everyone back.”
Eastwood MSP Jackson Carlaw showed his support for East Renfrewshire’s pubs yesterday by enjoying a pint at the Cartvale Bar, in Busby.
He said: “At long last, our pubs, restaurants and cafes are all able to open again to the public and it is incredibly important that we support them.
“If we want these amenities to exist, if we want to see them at the heart of our communities, we need to get out and support them.”
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