Pubs and bars across East Ayrshire are set to welcome punters back through their doors today.
From last Monday (July 6) they were allowed to host customers outside in beer gardens, but this week will see even further relaxation of lockdown measures meaning the return of pubs.
Ryan McCubbin, owner of Drongan bar The Boolers, told us about how the reopening went for him
He said: “We were really busy, didn’t expect it to be so good, it was quite a surprise. We had people all over the place, a good mix of ages too.”
During the lockdown period, Ryan, who also works as an engineer with British Airways, adapted the outdoor space of The Boolers to accommodate a beer garden, for which he has installed to marquees to protect customers from the elements.
He only took on the building in July last year but has transformed it from a wreck into a bar and gym in a very short space of time.
The new marquee outside at The Boolers.
Another pub that opened its doors to customers last week was the Failford Inn. Their picturesque beer garden set alongside the River Ayr welcomed between 40-50 customers a day over the weekend and owner Holly Cree was pleased to see a return to “semi-normal”.
Holly said: “It was a pretty good weekend to be honest. The weather helped and the beer garden was full of new customers we’d never seen before.
“Everyone was really understanding about our physical distancing measures, there was no trouble with that at all.
“I think it was a lot of people’s first time getting out and it was great. People kind of forgot about all the COVID stuff, there was a really nice ambience.”
The Boolers and the Failford Inn are both hoping to open up the inside areas of their establishments this Wednesday, July 15, though lots of work is ongoing behind the scenes to ensure everything is ready.
Holly said: “We’ve got a lot of things to measure up to make sure we’re ready. We’ll wait and see before confirming. Although we have the opportunity to reduce social distancing to one meter we have decided to stick to two meters at this time. We’re hopeful we can get about 35 people inside at any time.”
The Boolers will definitely be open, with Ryan saying: “It will be good to get everyone inside.”
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