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First look inside a Greene King pub – 60% seat capacity and one in, one out toilets
GOING down the local will be very different when pubs reopen next month, with more competition to get a seat and a new way of queuing for the loo.
The Sun was given an exclusive look inside a Greene King pub to see how social distancing will work inside boozers.
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Pubs have been told by the government they won’t be able to reopen before July 4 - but they haven’t officially been given the go-ahead yet.
They've been closed since lockdown began on March 23, although some have remained open to serve takeaways only, which is allowed.
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Greene King, which has 1,700 pubs around the UK, is planning to reopen “the majority” of its boozers from this date if it can.
Like most Brits, I’ve been missing my local and I’ve been worried about what it will be like when they reopen.
As expected the tables and chairs in the Fort St George in Cambridge have been rearranged to make sure punters can keep a safe distance.
Like rival businesses, such as Wetherspoon, Greene King is also using perspex screens to separate tables.
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It feels spacious, even in a quirky pub with low ceilings, and it’s a comfort to know you’re being kept apart from other customers.
But with the seating capacity reduced to around 60 per cent in the majority of pubs, grabbing a table to have a pint with your mates is going to be harder than ever.
The good news is you can pre-book a table for drinks or food, or both, through the Greene King app or turn up without doing this - but if you don’t pre-book, you’ll likely have to queue outside while you wait for a table.
If you plan on eating in, some pubs will run a reduced menu.
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At most, menus will be reduced by around 20 per cent with changes including fewer roast dinner options on a Sunday, or a more limited number of burgers to choose from.
It’ll still be serving pub grub classics such as fish and chips and pie and mash though.
As you head outside, the garden area has had a similar transformation with fewer tables to allow customers to sit apart.
Then there’s the wait for the loo. The chain has installed new one-in-one-out red and green indicators on the entrances to toilets which you can flip with your elbow on your way in and out.
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This will help keep your distance and avoid toilets getting too full up of people waiting to spend a penny.
At the entrances drinkers will see a new set of “pub safe” rules as they step inside.
It reminds people to stay a safe two-metre distance apart, as well pointing out the new hand sanitiser stations dotted around the pub.
Pub staff hope the sign will help reassure people who are worried about visiting - and it definitely makes clear what is expected of customers when they’re inside.
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A host will be on hand at the entrance of the pub to welcome each customer, show them to their table and manage queues.
You enter and leave the building via a one-way system, with new markers on the floor telling you which way to go.
When it comes to ordering, customers are being encouraged to use the free Order and Pay app on their smartphone - this lets you order food and drink without leaving your table.
Before lockdown, Greene King had only got as far as trialling the app in a handful of pubs but it has sped up the rollout to help boozers reopen.
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And bosses reckon it’s inevitable that this’ll be the future of ordering in pubs.
Customers can still use the bar, which is also fitted with perspex screens, although you’ll be asked to pay with card or contactless where possible.
When it comes to workers, the “pub safe” rules explain how each member of staff will be temperature checked on arrival.
There will also be a new “pub safe monitor” whose role will be to monitor cleaning and listen to customer concerns. They’ll be easily identified by a special uniform.
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Punters will also find fewer people behind the bar, for example, where some pubs have four bartenders at one time, this number will go down to two.
But this is so there can be more workers on the pub floor to help with collecting of glasses and clearing of plates - kind of more like table service in a posh bistro.
Where staff are working outside of the protective bar area they can choose to wear PPE, such as plastic face visors.
Karen Bosher, managing director premium, urban and venture brands at Greene King, told us the chain's aim is to keep customers safe but to ensure they're not alienated.
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She said: "We want people to still have a really enjoyable experience with us and to have great beer, great food and to feel like they haven’t come into an alien environment.
"What we’ve tried to do is subtly navigate guests through the environment so that they recognise the pub that they’ve always come to and love deeply.
"At the same time, they’ll feel that we’ve got their care and protection at heart."
Overall, the new rules aren’t too weird as long as you know what to expect.
Soon going for a socially distant pint will feel like the new normal and I can’t wait.
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