JD Wetherspoon today revealed its £11million masterplan to reopen its 875 pubs within weeks - but while the blueprint promises social distancing there is no mention of the two-metre rule experts say will decimate the hospitality sector.
The chain closed in March despite its chairman Tim Martin claiming the lockdown 'wouldn't save lives' and the millionaire Brexiteeer also blasted Boris Johnson for not adopting a herd immunity policy.
With pubs expected to reopen in July, Wetherspoons drinkers will be told 'not to meet in large groups' and will be expected to sanitise their hands on arrival and at other times during their visit using dispensers dotted around the pubs. They will follow one-way systems to the toilets and Lạc Sơn Đại Phật through the bar where the tills will be screened off to protect staff likely to be wearing masks, gloves and eye protection, the chain said.
Staff will hand over all drinks holding the base of the pint or wine glass and when ordered via a smartphone they will be delivered to the table on a tray for the customers to take themselves to reduce the chances of spreading Covid-19. Families will be asked to keep children seated and always accompanied to the toilet.
The 875 pubs in UK and Ireland will open during its usual hours of 8am to around 1am and encourage customers to order using its app with posters put up telling them 'there is no need to visit the bar'. But people can pay by cash or card at the till if necessary and must not move any furniture.
Drinkers will be encouraged to use many of the chain's large gardens but inside tables will be surrounded by screens to ensure social distancing. The chain's food menu will be pared back and condiment bottles removed and replaced with sachets to prevent coronavirus spreading via shared ketchup, mayonnaise and vinegar.
Every pub will also have a member of staff employed to sanatise the pubs, concentrating on door knobs, card machines and hand rails.
Pubs and restaurants have been begging the the Government to relax social distancing rules to one metre in a bid to avoid their collapse, and the JD Wetherspoon plan does not mention the distance customers will be kept apart.
In March Tim Martin blasted the Government for telling people not to go to pubs or restaurants saying the Prime Minister should stick to a plan to build 'herd immunity' in the population. He also said he understood if staff thought it was a 'good idea' to take jobs at retailers such as Tesco while pubs remain closed, before reversing a decision to withhold staff pay until the Government's furlough scheme kicked in.
Revealing what Wetherspoons customers will experience post-lockdown, the chain said:
The pubs will use one entrance with a separate exit door where possible. Customer entry and exit will be marked out by floor stickers and/or barriers. Door security will monitor the numbers entering and leaving to prevent overcrowding;
All of its pubs will have screens at the tills and there will also be screens to create seating areas where it is not possible to separate the tables by two metres;
Wetherspoon will provide gloves, masks and protective eyewear - but it is not mandatory for them to wear them unless the Government says so. They will also have their temperatures taken on arrival for their shifts.
Staff will hand over all drinks holding the base of the glass and when ordered by the app they will be delivered to the table on a tray and placed on the table using the base of the glass.
Each pub will have at least ten or more hand santiser stations and customers should use them on arrival and multiple times during their visit. One member of staff will be dedicated to sanitising surfaces;
The drinks menu will remain the same - but food will be pared back and items should be ordered via the official JD Wetherspoon app if possible. But tills will be open and Lạc Sơn Đại Phật take cash; The pubs will provide sachets (ketchup, mayonnaise, salt pepper etc), rather than their usual condiment bottles;
Workers must hand over all drinks holding the base of the glass and when ordered by the app they will be delivered to the table on a tray and placed on the table using the base of the glass.
Wetherspoons will be very different places when they reopen and the pub chain has said it will spend £11million getting them
This is what a JD Wetherspoon pub bar will look like when they reopen with a screen to keep staff and drinkers apart
Customers will be asked to sanatise their hands on arrival - and throughout their visit - and pubs will have banners explaining the rules
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The chain closed in March despite its chairman Tim Martin claiming the lockdown 'wouldn't save lives' and the millionaire Brexiteeer also blasted Boris Johnson for not adopting a herd immunity policy.
With pubs expected to reopen in July, Wetherspoons drinkers will be told 'not to meet in large groups' and will be expected to sanitise their hands on arrival and at other times during their visit using dispensers dotted around the pubs. They will follow one-way systems to the toilets and Lạc Sơn Đại Phật through the bar where the tills will be screened off to protect staff likely to be wearing masks, gloves and eye protection, the chain said.
Staff will hand over all drinks holding the base of the pint or wine glass and when ordered via a smartphone they will be delivered to the table on a tray for the customers to take themselves to reduce the chances of spreading Covid-19. Families will be asked to keep children seated and always accompanied to the toilet.
The 875 pubs in UK and Ireland will open during its usual hours of 8am to around 1am and encourage customers to order using its app with posters put up telling them 'there is no need to visit the bar'. But people can pay by cash or card at the till if necessary and must not move any furniture.
Drinkers will be encouraged to use many of the chain's large gardens but inside tables will be surrounded by screens to ensure social distancing. The chain's food menu will be pared back and condiment bottles removed and replaced with sachets to prevent coronavirus spreading via shared ketchup, mayonnaise and vinegar.
Every pub will also have a member of staff employed to sanatise the pubs, concentrating on door knobs, card machines and hand rails.
Pubs and restaurants have been begging the the Government to relax social distancing rules to one metre in a bid to avoid their collapse, and the JD Wetherspoon plan does not mention the distance customers will be kept apart.
In March Tim Martin blasted the Government for telling people not to go to pubs or restaurants saying the Prime Minister should stick to a plan to build 'herd immunity' in the population. He also said he understood if staff thought it was a 'good idea' to take jobs at retailers such as Tesco while pubs remain closed, before reversing a decision to withhold staff pay until the Government's furlough scheme kicked in.
Revealing what Wetherspoons customers will experience post-lockdown, the chain said:
The pubs will use one entrance with a separate exit door where possible. Customer entry and exit will be marked out by floor stickers and/or barriers. Door security will monitor the numbers entering and leaving to prevent overcrowding;
All of its pubs will have screens at the tills and there will also be screens to create seating areas where it is not possible to separate the tables by two metres;
Wetherspoon will provide gloves, masks and protective eyewear - but it is not mandatory for them to wear them unless the Government says so. They will also have their temperatures taken on arrival for their shifts.
Staff will hand over all drinks holding the base of the glass and when ordered by the app they will be delivered to the table on a tray and placed on the table using the base of the glass.
Each pub will have at least ten or more hand santiser stations and customers should use them on arrival and multiple times during their visit. One member of staff will be dedicated to sanitising surfaces;
The drinks menu will remain the same - but food will be pared back and items should be ordered via the official JD Wetherspoon app if possible. But tills will be open and Lạc Sơn Đại Phật take cash; The pubs will provide sachets (ketchup, mayonnaise, salt pepper etc), rather than their usual condiment bottles;
Workers must hand over all drinks holding the base of the glass and when ordered by the app they will be delivered to the table on a tray and placed on the table using the base of the glass.
Wetherspoons will be very different places when they reopen and the pub chain has said it will spend £11million getting them
This is what a JD Wetherspoon pub bar will look like when they reopen with a screen to keep staff and drinkers apart
Customers will be asked to sanatise their hands on arrival - and throughout their visit - and pubs will have banners explaining the rules
RELATED ARTICLES
Previous
1
2
Next
Reopening pubs and restaurants NOW would NOT risk a second... Another day at the beach: Lockdown Britons flock back to the... McDonald's will 'reopen ALL drive-thrus by early June' while...
Table service only, 50 patrons and NO mingling: Everything... Plans to reopen primary schools are driven by welfare...
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