Liverpool's famous match day pub The Sandon Complex will not be opening its doors on July 4 despite the Government today giving the green light for pubs, bars and restaurants to do so.
Owner of the Anfield pub, Kate Stewart says despite the two metre distancing rule being changed to one it is still not "feasible" to open her pub at this stage.
Earlier this afternoon, speaking in the House of Commons Boris Johnson said restaurants and bars could reopen but must provide table service and only have a minimal number of staff working at one time.
But with fans still not allowed into football stadiums and the onus on businesses owners to enforce social distancing when pubs do reopen, Kate says that while the announcement is positive for some it isn't simple for her business.
Kate said: “Despite the restrictions easing, it won’t be feasible for me to reopen The Sandon at this stage. I will have 100% bills to pay but the capacity of how many guests we can have will be much lower than usual.
"We’re also a business that relies on football trade and match go-ers and since attending football stadiums isn’t allowed, we’ll continue to be hit hard.
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“It’s great that they’re opening beer gardens but the British weather is unpredictable. One week we can have a heatwave and the following week it’ll be a downpour of rain, thunder and lightening!
"It also means that the onus is on business owners to enforce social distancing and we’ll be welcoming people who have been locked down for three months, giving them alcohol and expecting them to adhere to the rules.
"Yet it’ll be business owners who are reprimanded if people are breaking the rules at our venues.
“The new guidance is positive for some businesses but it definitely doesn’t mean that all will and can reopen.”
From July 4, the Prime Minister said businesses including pubs, bars and restaurants could reopen as well hairdressers as long as they are "Covid-secure".
However, this is not the case for all businesses. Speaking at the House the Commons, Boris Johnson said: “Close proximity venues such as Nightclubs, soft play areas, indoor gyms, swimming pools and spas will need to, I’m afraid, remain closed for now as will bowling alleys and water parks.”
He did add that task forces would be set up to help these venues become "Covid-secure" and open as soon as possible.
