Venues
Up and running Zoe Fryday speaks to bar teams about their reopening experiences, as well as hopes and plans moving Forward
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uly saw the vast share of UK hospitality venues reopen after months of national lockdown. With strict social distancing regulations still in place, bar teams have had to make some big changes and get creative, ready to welcome back guests. They’ve been tasked with introducing new operational measures to safeguard customers and staff, while at the same time, ensuring patrons feel relaxed, comfortable and free to enjoy the in-venue experience. Northern bar group Arc Inspirations, which operates three brands – Manahatta, Box and Banyan – has reopened all of its 17 sites. “We’ve had a really positive experience opening and our customers and teams are very pleased to be back,” says CEO Martin Wolstencroft. “Sales have exceeded our expectations, which is brilliant. Our neighbourhood sites have done particularly well, indicating that people are still keen to stay local. The teams have shown a tremendous amount of dedication and have pulled together to deliver excellent service.” A huge amount of work and planning has gone into ensuring all the right procedures are in place at the Arc Inspiration venues, from mapping out new customer
Nelson Bernardes
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Arc Inspirations’ Box journeys to training teams and giving them confidence to operate under the new guidance. “We’ve installed Perspex between booths and at the bar area, tables are at least 1m apart and waiting zones are mapped out on the floor to help customers socially distance. There are limited menus, live entertainment is currently on pause and hand sanitiser stations and track and trace data capture are also in place. We’re asking customers to order at the bar and pay by card and are encouraging people to prebook and pay a deposit, securing their table and protecting us from no shows. We’re rapidly working on getting our order and pay by mobile functionality up and running as soon as possible, allowing customers to order and pay on their phone without the need to stand at the bar.” Once it is safe to do so and consumer confidence returns, the operator will open more of its brands in key cities, including Box in Manchester. “We’re also working on fantastic new menus for all three brands, which will launch over the next few months, and we will be taking part in the Government Eat Out to Help Out Scheme during August. Of course, there is a way to go yet, but we’re confident we can rebuild and bounce back stronger than ever.”
Skylight Rooftop at Tobacco Dock in London is fortunate to have an immense outdoor space, which has helped when it came to developing safe post-lockdown plans. “Our team really rallied together in the three weeks before 4 July and pulled off some incredible feats to get our outdoor venue ready for launch,” states Scott McVittie, event director at Meanwhile Events Ltd, the team behind the venue. “By freeing up the croquet lawns, we have been able to distance our tables further apart and create wide walk-ways for staff. It was important for us to utilise our space, allowing as many people as possible to return to Skylight whilst maintaining distancing measures. We have seen incredible demand and have been operating at near full occupancy since opening – the major caveat being that our new occupancy is 50% of what it once was.” The most significant change, Scott explains, was moving to table service right across the venue for food and drink. Previously the four bars would serve drinks directly to customers and customers would have the choice to visit either of the venue’s food traders to place orders. “We’ve now centralised that so that our bartenders and chefs work independently from anyone
