Bar entrepreneur calls for staggered closing times

BAR closing times should be “staggered” so not everyone leaves pubs and clubs at the same time, a leading figure in Ireland’s hospitality industry said yesterday.

The ongoing review of licensing laws provides an ideal opportunity to introduce real reforms, according to Jay Bourke, the entrepreneur who co-owns some of Ireland’s most successful restaurants, bars and clubs, including the Café Bar Deli restaurant group and the former Bewley’s on Grafton Street in Dublin.

“It is necessary for Ireland to introduce sequential closing so that people can get home quickly once they leave a venue.

“Individual restaurants, pubs and clubs all need to close at different times so that services are available for everyone; this will be a really positive change for the hospitality industry and wider society,” he said as he addressed a hospitality conference at Waterford Institute of Technology.

“People at all levels can influence public policy and licensing laws are currently going through major change. If publicans and nightclub owners don’t speak up and decide what will work holistically then this thing could go drastically wrong.

“We must lobby together rather than engage in turf warfare within our industry,” he told delegates drawn from across the hospitality sector.

Addressing the same conference, respected food writer John McKenna spoke of the diverse elements that make a destination attractive. “Competition is no longer simply local but rather global. People will not go to a destination because it has one four-star hotel; rather they’ll want to know what activities, eating options and entertainment is available. They can get on a flight and be in San Sebastian or London, or indeed many other European cities, within a couple of hours without spending very much.”

Advising delegates that marketing is a key tool for the hospitality industry, Mr McKenna, co-author of the highly-regarded Bridgestone Guides, said a new thinking is necessary.

“Consumers are now very smart and make up their mind about a service very quickly, in fact in two seconds. Therefore, you have two seconds to take charge and convince them you have what they need.

“There is so much choice in the market now that consumers no longer know what it is that they want. Therefore a smart restaurant will not overload the consumer with choice.”