Covid-19: Bristol pubs worried for future after city put in top tier

A pub owner said she could have cried after hearing it will remain closed in the build-up to Christmas.

Hundreds of pubs around Bristol will stay shut when lockdown ends, as the city is placed in tier three of the coronavirus restrictions.

Debra Purnell from The Old Inn, Clevedon is one of many owners deeply worried for their future saying the move "could bankrupt us".

She plans to offer takeaway meals during the closure.

"I could actually cry. We're gutted. We have put a lot of money into it and this could bankrupt us," she said.

We have spoken to other pub and restaurant owners in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire to find out how tier three restrictions will impact their businesses.

Navina Bartlett, who runs events catering company Coconut Chilli in Bristol, said before lockdown she was catering for festivals, weddings and corporate events, and started a takeaway operation when the original set of restrictions were introduced.

"In the first lockdown I was really busy. There wasn't a lot of competition," she said.

"But it's been very different in the second lockdown because all the national chains are operating, and lots of the restaurants have geared up their takeaway operations.

"It's been very challenging. Familiar hospitality folk have families to support and often won't have a safety net to fall back on."

Mike Harris is the owner of the Strawberry Thief bar in Bristol and said even if the city had been placed in tier two, he was not sure if he would have opened.

"As a wet-led pub tier two offers a lot of uncertainty and risk," he said.

"There is a lot of frustration this close to Christmas. When you take out the Christmas parties too we have lost the busiest part of the year.

"We are a city centre bar and rely on footfall, with offices and shops being open. We have managed to keep our staff team together and we have a very loyal customer base so we are confident they will always come back."

But Paul Kemp who leases The Crown pub in St Nicholas Market and runs the Beerd beer and pizza firm in St Michael's Hill, Bristol, said the second lockdown had been "very, very different to the first".

"In the spring and summer we were selling more alcohol from Beerd as off-site sales than we've ever sold. But in the second lockdown, with the nights being darker and people being more worried about their jobs...there's been a big dip.

"When Boris Johnson announced 'don't go to pubs' in March, the leases were worth nothing overnight."

Shamsi Kabbara and her partner Dave Lawrence picked up the keys to their new restaurant on the same day the second national lockdown was announced.

The couple have been forced to begin life at Amigos Cocina in Chipping Sodbury by offering takeaway food only, but hope to be able to welcome their first seated customers later in December when tier levels are reassessed.

Ms Kabbara said "you couldn't make up" the timing of the lockdown as they prepared to launch, but understands the importance of keeping vulnerable people safe, as Mr Lawrence underwent a double lung transplant last year.

"I was scared we would go into tier three. We were fully booked. Like a lot of independent businesses we have been so stringent in social distancing and cleaning. Hospitality has just been hit again.

"I know from our own experience we have to keep people safe and protect the NHS. We just have to stay positive.

"We can get people in at tier two but it's the wet-led pubs I feel sorry for. We feel quite fortunate in that respect."

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]