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Jun 2020

Business

Masks and visors for staff serving in restaurants to be new normal

Published: 23 Jun 2020, 06:35 BST

by Suzannah Rogerson

Restaurant owners in Harrogate worry that if they open, visitors might be put off by servers wearing masks, fewer tables and a lack of toilets.

Toilet traffic light systems and pre-booking an arrival time are to become the new normal as pubs and restaurants set to reopen from 4 July.

Hospitality businesses in the district are anxiously waiting to hear the reduced one metre distance to be announced during todays's coronavirus briefing. Even with the new distance in place, the experience previously offered for customers is likely to be different when they reopen.

Jack Woodruff who owns The Disappearing Chin in Harrogate, said the distancing rule has made planning problematic:

"We are offering pre-booked slots for maybe two or three hours but due to our size the distancing is problematic when it comes to the toilets. For example, we couldn't have one person walking to the toilet and another sat at the bar as they would be too close together so we've had to introduce a one-way system to the toilets.

"For the sake of the size of our bar we have also had to order perspex screens to use and we will have to limit contact between staff and customers."

Simon Wade is the owner of the Grantham Arms in Boroughbridge, like many others he will have to introduce new safety systems once he can reopen:

"We're now taking orders from tables, those orders will then be placed on large barrels, that are dotted around, for the customers to collect.

"We also have a one way system for the toilets. It's like a traffic light system, so a person will press a button with their elbow to indicate they're inside and will press it again as they leave another way to let the next person waiting to go in know they can. We will also have staff constantly sanitising areas and we just hope customers are happy to follow our rules."

Restaurants fight for survival as they hope to reopen in July.

Council plans for outdoor space to be made available to Harrogate's hospitality sector.

David Straker, is the co-owner of the William and Victoria restaurant in Harrogate, believes the new dining experience may not be as enjoyable for guests:

‘It will be a lot quieter. The width of the room is about two metres. We could fit four tables in downstairs, then the same in each room upstairs”.

"My biggest reservation is do people want to be served by people wearing masks and visors? It doesn’t lend itself to a nice experience. It’s not going to be forever but we’re going to have to. We have a responsibility to our members of staff and you have to give them the right stuff."

Nick Rahmen, owner of Cardamom Black in Harrogate, said:

"There will be no toilets open and people won't be allowed to congregate at the bar. We'll have thermometers to test if somebody is visibly under the weather. But we cant go too far to offend people."

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Masks and visors for staff serving in restaurants to be new normal

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