A town’s pubs are looking forward to pulling pints once more as they prepare to reopen.
Three of North Walsham’s pubs will be opening on Saturday, with more to open later in the month.
Here are
Orchard Gardens
The Orchard Gardens will reopen following social distancing advice in a series of marquees in its garden on July 4 with limited numbers allowed.
Owner Alison Starling said she expects trading to be even more difficult once the pub reopens due to additional costs.
She said: “There’s going to be lots of restrictions on the amount of people that can come in and with social distancing we’re going to have a lot less people, even in the garden.
“The costs are going to be much higher and the overheads aren’t any less, so it’s going to be tough, very difficult.”
White Swan
The White Swan will reopen on July 4 and owner Bev Holland, who took over at the pub on the day lockdown was announced after its previous landlord retired, has been overseeing a full refurbishment of both its interior and beer garden during closure.
She said: “From what I understand initially we’re going to be able to open the beer garden taking in social distancing, so it’s just a case of making sure the tables are spaced when we lay it out.”
Kings Arms
The King’s Arms will reopen on July 4 operating a one-way system with outdoor seating in its car park.
Owner Martin Miles previously said the pub had struggled during lockdown due to the fact it had not been eligible for government grants.He said during lockdown: “It’s absolutely rubbish to be honest, because of the size of the pub we didn’t qualify for any grants, we’ve had no government help at all, it’s costing around £9,000 per month to be closed.”
The Bluebell
The Bluebell will reopen on July 4 with social distancing measures in place.
Black Swan
The Black Swan will reopen on July 25 with staff mocking up plans for how social distancing in the pub’s thin bar area.
The Hop In
The Hop In has not announced plans to reopen its bar area however it has been selling takeaway beer during lockdown.
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