Pubs could re-open if they followed tough measures like rationing drinkers to three pints, experts have revealed.
The strict rules would include social distancing and could change the face of British pubs in the coming months with landlords turning enforcers and fining those who flout the rules.
The terms are outlined in a plan by economist and government advisor Professor Eyal Winter to get the country back on its feet.
He said social distancing was the key to coming out of lockdown with a clear timetable from the Government with what would happen by certain dates.
And he admitted while Brits were gasping for a pint at their local, for boozers to reopen, drinkers would have to keep two meters apart and be limited to three bevvies before heading home to free up space for others to enjoy a tipple.
Prof Winter of Lancaster University said: “People are starving for pubs. They are an important part of British culture.”
He has been advising ministers on coronavirus lockdown and said cinemas and theatres could also re-open but with half empty auditoriums.
Prof Winter told The Guardian every other seat would have to be unoccupied but venues could recoup some money by raising ticket prices.
But businesses fear social distancing could be a killer blow with the hospitality industry the hardest hit.
Katie Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality said reopening without a plan of action would be “catastrophic” for the sector, especially if social distancing was to become the norm for the foreseeable future.
She said: “An extended period of social distancing will mean that many hospitality businesses will not be able to operate fully and many will not be able to open at all.”
Restaurant owners added their concerns over how social distancing will impact on their livelihoods and Michel Roux Jr, boss of two Michelin star Le Gavroche in London called for a nine month rent amnesty.
He said: “Le Gavroche has been open for 53 years and been through recessions, depression, winter of discontent, IRA bombings and anything else you can think of.
“Nothing comes close to this crisis.”
Chef Yotam Ottolenghi who owns six restaurants and takeaways specialising in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine agreed and said: “Nobody in their right minds would say we can carry on paying rent as before.”
He has had to furlough 300 staff amid closures and said of social distancing: “Assume we operate at 50% capacity - that doesn’t allow us to pay the same salaries or rents.
“If we operate at 60-70% capacity, that’s still not a sustainable business because restaurants operate at profit margins of 10%.”
Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge has furloughed 250 staff at three pubs, two restaurants and an events catering business.
The boss of the Hand and Flowers pub in Marlow, Bucks which was the UK’s first boozer to get two Michelin stars said: “Restaurants and pubs are not just there for the purpose of serving something to eat and drink.
"There is something more deeply ingrained culturally and from a social point of view.
“Everybody is there to connect and create an energy and a social electricity that makes those places exciting and vibrant.
“If you’re only allowed to operate at 50% capacity, no-one can talk to each other or be close to each other and the social point is lost.”
And the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said the high street would also suffer with limits on the number of shoppers allowed into stores at any one time.
Tom Ironside, the BRC’s director of business said: “Firms face high costs to implement social distancing measures coupled with lower footfall.”
