Fylde coast hospitality in suspense ahead of new coronavirus tier announcements

While retail businesses are relived that they will be allowed to open at their most crucial time of year, hospitality and others are anxious about which of the more strict new tiers the coast is going to find itself in on Thursday.

One of the bar owners awaiting their fate is Jennie Ransome who runs the Albert Hotel and Albert’s Ale Microbar in Albert Road, with partner George Forrest.

She said they were waiting to see what the Tier announcements were going to bring before making any decisions.

She said: “It has already been a really difficult year for hotels and for bars so we are hoping things will improve. We reopened at the end of June but we were badly hit at October half term with the increased lockdown.

“We just don’t know what will be announced. If we end up in Tier 2 then we will hope to reopen for the run up to Christmas.

“We will reopen the hotel but not sure about the real ale bar yet.

“We do have the ability to do food, that was one of our specialities, real ale and real food, so depending on which tier we are in we could reopen.”

Albert’s Ale Microbar opened in 2017 after George and Jennie decided to diversify their hotel business and spread the word about real ales.

Christopher Brown who has the Craft House Beer Cafe in Clifton Street Lytham, said whatever happened with the tier announcements, the restrictions would further hurt hospitality businesses.

He said: “It will have a detrimental effect, particularly if we go into Tier 3.

“Even Tier 2 will be difficult. We would be able to open but it will be tight making ends meet.

“We opened after the first lockdown in June but it became harder as more and more restrictions were introduced.

“We have been doing takeaway orders. It is not the same. We do food, it is part of what we offer.

“Hopefully if we are in Tier 2 we will probably look to open four days a week, but we will have to see what they announce and then do the number crunching.”

The Craft House has been going for four and a half years and in 2019 won the Blackpool Fylde and Wyre CAMRA pub of the year title for having the best real ales.

The events industry has also had a tough 2020 and Blackpool based business networking and events organisation Pink Link Ladies has had to make changes and is wary about what December will bring.

Founder of the Blackpool-based business Coral Horn said: Whilst we are heaving a sigh of relief as we look at exiting lockdown next week, we are containing our excitement. The threat of re-entering the Tier System – and at what level - adds yet more uncertainty and confusion both for business owners and their customers.

"Pre lockdown Pink Link and the Enterprise Vision Awards were looking at the busiest year ever. While we pivoted to move the networking groups and masterclasses online and have expanded the network further afield, the restrictions on conferences and large events has had a huge effect on our customers.

"These events are essential to helping SMEs market their businesses, meet potential new customers and suppliers, and explore business opportunities.

"Demand is huge for events like this and we have a long list of customers waiting for us to be given the green light so they can get involved again.

"We all understand the need for caution and safety, but we are hearing from many female entrepreneurs, particularly in the beauty industry, that they are not sure whether their business will make it through many more months of this economic binding.

"These are businesses who have ploughed their profits back into their companies to grow and improve. They are businesses who play a valuable role in the local community and who have the potential for growth and employment.

"Small businesses have spent thousands of pounds ensuring they met Covid safety guidelines. Their ability to trade has been at the mercy of the Government and changed at the drop of a hat.

"They must be extremely fatigued at having to navigate their way through the thought of yet more restrictions. It’s time for a new approach, one which keeps businesses moving forward and encourages positivity."

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