Scenes in Soho on so-called #SuperSaturday were endlessly posted on Twitter.  I didn’t see a single positive (sensible) comment – but plenty were calling out the irresponsibility of the bars and drinkers. 
 
I had a brief twitter exchange with @MPSoho, the Met Police team for Soho (Amy Lame the Governments’ Night Time Czar and Mayor of London failed to respond).  MPSoho said that bars were operating at a reduced capacity, not doing takeaways, and that people were bringing their own booze into the Soho area.  Police were clearly visible in the photos both on the ground in the crowd and (weirdly) in some kind of lookout tower.   The Sun’s PR posted a photo of herself with a £14 Soho cocktail in a weird show of solidarity (there’s a story in a sentence if ever there was one).  
 
Soho was widely covered on mainstream media this morning and presented by some as indicative of the rest of the country.  It was not.  Across the country tens of thousands of responsible pub folks, after months of lockdown, took a financial hit by opening in line with government guidelines or by not opening at all.  Many asked customers not adhering to guidelines to leave their venues. Let’s not forget that these guidelines – while not themselves laws – are backed-up by pretty stringent legal regulations.   Police and licensing officers visited huge swathes of town and rural pubs to check they were complying.
 
In my own personal opinion the scenes in Soho were permitted in a “hey, look at everybody having fun rebooting the economy!” way and I’m struggling to see who the winners are. 

The Government loses by appearing to have lifted restrictions too early. 

The Soho bars lose as people think they are acting irresponsibly (by the way one bar is offering half-price drinks 3-8pm so tbh that might be justified).   

The police lose because people are questioning why large crowds of (mainly white, middle class) were allowed to congregate while smaller, private, house parties were being raided and shut down across less trendy parts of London.

Responsible publicans lose as they spend money they don’t have to meet guidelines and operate at a reduced capacity. They they lose again as potential customers think “not likely!” and don’t visit their local for a quiet pint.  

Soho last night was NOT indicative of the pub industry.   You simply can’t have one rule for central London and another rule for everyone else.    

At the beginning of May I tweeted a thread about things pubs should be thinking about before re-opening.  At the risk of tooting my own horn many have turned out to be right (I'm expecting my call from Boris soon).  Here's that list - if you're on Twitter you can find me @elainewalton.  

• The most obvious: alcohol intake. It lowers social inhibitions, amplifies your inner hugger, you forget personal space etc. Some get argumentative. Some get cocky. There’s always been the “we don’t serve drunks” law but I’m expecting a 2-3 drinks limit. Shots? Nope.

 

• Spacing: tables spaced apart, smaller tables, no-one standing/sitting at the bar, garden tables spread out. I expect a capacity no higher than 50% depending on pub layout because....

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• ..Walking routes: How will staff and customers flow in/out and around the pub? Tables within 2m of kitchen doors? Within 2m of bar? Within 2m of external doors? Access to toilets, cellar, fire exits, garden/outdoor space/smoking area. Space in toilets - urinals guards?
  

• Who’s in your pub? Kids? Can they sit still at a table?

• Machines, pool cues/darts: How are they cleaned in-between customers? SD again (which obvs will impact EVERYTHING).

• On to the kitchen. How many chefs do you need? Any more than 1 behind mainline - is there enough space? How does your menu need to change to accommodate new staffing levels? Do you need to change your kitchen opening hours to accommodate additional cleaning?

• Service times: fewer chefs without a menu adaptation may mean a longer wait for food, slowing table turnover.

• Kitchen layout: what can you do to maximise flow and improve SD? Think about eqpt and crockery positioning.

• Bar service will likely have to move to table service only (prob with order to table apps). Think how this will impact the craic round the bar for wet-led pubs.

• More table service will mean more staff are needed: All I’ll say here is ‘Good Luck JDW’ with both staff loyalty and your cheap prices. (I can’t see how most pubs can avoid increasing prices, tbh).

• Increased hand washing is to be expected - factor this in to your kitchen and bar flows. You’ll need more hand gel stations for both customers and staff. Again, think about routes to and from.

• Karaoke/Discos etc: Don’t even think about hosting these yet.

• Product ranges: Real ales will need to be rationalised to ensure quality and minimise losses. While I think about it.... Staff re-training in cross-contamination. Joe Bloggs who always insists on the same glass for every pint will have to be told no.

• Crazy-cheap drinks deals need to be thought through - don’t encourage people to get too drunk too quickly and then tell them to leave...

• Contact point disinfection in opening times: Along with usual cleaning practices start thinking how you’re going to clean contact points in customer areas like door handles, machines etc, table tops, backs of chairs (always forgotten), toilets..Add this to the staffing costs too

• Glass collection: invest in glass carriers now. Think about how staff are going to handle dirty glasses - what’s going to make them feel safest?

• (Most) Customers are going to want to feel confident that you’re putting their safety first. (Some won’t care and will just want to get p****d; don’t @ me, this is a fact but if you let them it will drive away all other customers).

• General Manager or Duty Manager need to be free to host, observe, and manage social distancing. They need training, confidence, and the gravitas to handle conflict. Do they have that?

What do you think?  Since I posted these tweets pubs have re-opened in Australia utilising perspex screens between tables and contact-tracker sheets (ID of each customer in case there is a case in the pub).  I see more pubs researching 'pods' of various shapes and sizes for their gardens to maximise their covers (and in preparation for the inevitable Summer rain).  I'd be really interested to know what you're doing to prepare your pub for re-opening - let me know in the comments or drop me a line [email protected] if you'd like your pub to be featured here.