The team at Gonzo’s Tea Room are hoping to start the summer on a high and are building ‘corona cubicles’ on their rooftop terrace as they prepare for a possible July 4 reopening.
The bar, in London Street, has been closed since March and in the meantime has offered takeaways of its popular burgers, poutine and chicken wings along with roasts on Sundays.
With the government now saying that pubs could reopen from as early as July 4, particularly those with large outdoor spaces, owners and brothers Brad and Mike Baxter are utilising their large rooftop terrace.
This has included building ‘corona cubicles’, which will help ensure social distancing guidelines are adhered too, and they will also have hand sanitiser on every table and someone at the top and bottom of the stairs at all times managing numbers.
Brad Baxter said: “Scientists say coronavirus is apparently more difficult to catch in outside spaces so I think these will open first and not the inside of pubs.
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“The guidance is changing everyday, so we are waiting to see, but we have nothing but time on our hands at the moment so are getting ready.
“We are building scaffolding frames with plastic dividers between them so all the tables are completely separate for different households.
“We will have a separate menu with a chef up here doing a daily barbecue on the roof with some of our smokehouse items too.”
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They are also planning on putting up plastic screens when they are allowed to open inside and are considering converting the upstairs Gonzo’s Two Room, normally a live event space, into a dining room so tables can be spaced out over both floors.
Gonzo’s Tea Room normally transforms into a nightclub in the evenings with a DJ, but Brad Baxter doesn’t see that happening for the rest of the year.
Mr Baxter added: “For the first time in my life I’ve had a clear head and been able to sit and watch Game of Thrones rather than think about work, which has been lovely, but it has gone on long enough now.”
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