Pubs in the Harrogate district have voiced their disappointment at being placed in tier two at the end of lockdown.
Rick Jones, who owns the Water Rat and Valentino’s, said: “We were all praying for tier one. But with a very limited number of areas going into tier one it is not a surprise.”
He expects the impact of tier two to mean that business at the Water Rat pub will be down by around 30% compared to the same time last year.
Mr Jones added: “Celebratory casual drinks in December won’t be happening. There’s only so many times you can go out with your own household. There’s a vaccine in sight. We just have to face this and ride it out.”
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While trade will be down for his pubs, wet-led pubs that cannot serve substantial meals with drinks have to close.
Richard Park, of the Little Ale House, also said: “It is something we were expecting but we are of course disappointed. It just makes no sense to close small, safe pubs like ours.
“Just because we don’t have the capacity to cook substantial meals, whatever that means, we are forced to keep our doors shut.”
Megan Fairweather, the social media secretary at Harrogate and Ripon CAMRA, added:
“After an agonising wait, licensees across the country have had their worst fears confirmed – in all but three council areas in the country, pubs will either be closed or only able to open if they are serving substantial meals.”
