After more than three months of lockdown, English pubs and restaurants are about to come back to life.
It’s being dubbed ‘super Saturday’ and pubs, along with Prime Minister Boris Johnson are urging people to be responsible and not push the boat out too far.
There’s a buzz of excitement in the air at Caravan a Kiwi-owned and run restaurant with six sites in London as its doors are about to re-open:
Chris Ammerman, co-owner of Caravan Food and Coffee told Newshub it was like opening for the first time".
The outdoor terrace at King’s Cross is being prepped and swept, cutlery is being polished, the bar’s being stocked, and the menu is coming to life.
"There's a lot of pent up demand and people have been sitting at home for four months and looking forward to coding out grabbing a beer, a wine and some good food," Ammerman said.
If it's a good old Kiwi pie they're after though, Secret Goldmine in Bermondsey is the place to be - the Kiwi cafe is throwing a party in its courtyard with Kiwi brewers Yeastie Boys:
Mike Meehan, owner of Secret Goldmine Cafe said the pies and the beers together, are a Kiwi tradition.
Meehan's fridge is full of beers, his chiller's full of steak and cheese and potato tops and there’ll be plenty of freshly made scotch eggs, new measures for the new normal:
"We're providing an outside toilet facility, we're providing hand sanitiser, social distancing, one-way queues, that kind of thing to make people feel they're in a safe environment," Meehan told Newshub.
Not all restaurants and pubs are rushing to reopen though, the Kiwi who owns one pub is erring on the side of caution, telling Newshub he wants to hang back and watch what goes on.
Heath Ball has owned the Red Lion and Sun since 2007 and while he’s desperate to open, his experience tells him it's not wise, so he'll stay takeaway only:
"It's going to be an episode of Brits Abroad, they're going to be falling out of pubs, no social distancing, they're going to hanging off each other, throwing up in the street, A&E is going to be packed. It's going to be a mess," Ball said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is more optimistic, but if Britain bungles its re-opening its re-closing will be back in no time.
