Wetherspoon boss urges indoor pub reopening 'without delay'
JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has called for a reopening of pubs and restaurants in Ireland "without delay".
The boss of pub group JD Wetherspoon has called for a full reopening of Ireland’s pubs and restaurants “without delay”, citing growing momentum in the vaccine rollout programme and no examples of widespread Covid transmission when they were previously open.
Tim Martin said he fully expects a bounce in customer demand when Ireland's pubs reopen for outdoor trade on June 7 – as has been seen upon reopening in the UK – but said the Government should allow for a full reopening immediately, rather than opting to wait until a later date to allow a return to indoor dining and drinking.
“Wetherspoon registered 50m customer visits, between lockdowns, at its UK pubs in the second half of last year and there were no outbreaks, whatsoever, of the virus, as defined by the health authorities,” he said.
“There were no examples, either, of a transmission of the virus from staff to customers or vice versa.
Pubs in Britain have seen a surge in bookings upon reopening for indoor trade this week.
However, despite the evidence of pent-up customer demand, one industry group called it a psychological reopening, rather than an economic reopening – given pubs are still operating at heavily reduced capacity and with social distancing and mask-wearing rules still in effect for customers.
As of the end of April, with Britain having just reopened pubs for outdoor service, about 8,500 fewer pubs were in operation than before the Covid crisis hit. Lobbyists are calling for government supports to remain in place.
“Hospitality businesses are unable to operate viably with current caps on capacity and further restrictions,” said UKHospitality CEO Kate Nicholls.
Mr Martin has been a long-standing critic of lockdown restrictions as a means of tackling Covid, recently saying lockdown has created “economic and social mayhem and colossal debts, with no apparent health benefits”.
Wetherspoon is continuing to invest heavily in expanding in Ireland. It currently operates seven pubs here and has a long-term goal of having at least 30 in the next few years.
Its near-term Irish expansion plans will see it open two more outlets in Dublin – including its biggest project to date, the €21m Keavan’s Port hotel/pub development on Camden Street – and one each in Galway and Limerick.
Munster will feature heavily in Wetherspoon’s plans, with new openings likely in Waterford and Cork down the line. The group has also not ruled out opening bars in Ireland’s main airports as part of its expansion drive.
Mr Martin has said the company remains confident in its overall growth prospects in Ireland, despite the restrictions and lack of clarity over when pubs can fully reopen.
“Whereas a slow reopening increases financial pressure on all businesses, it hasn’t affected our expansion plans. We plan to open new pubs in Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Waterford in due course,” he said recently.
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