How the 10pm curfew has affected pubs, restaurants, the hospitality sector — and customers
The coronavirus pandemic has brought on many challenges across the country, most notably in the hospitality sector as the struggle to stay afloat remains.
Many pubs were forced to shut while they made changes in order to adhere to Government rules and guidelines. It began with takeaway services from the side of restaurants, before social distancing rules were put in place for businesses to re-open to the new ‘normal’.
A maximum of six, a two-hour time window, limited capacity — it’s now a battle to not only get into pubs and restaurants and find availability, but to stay there for as long as possible.
But now with the 10pm curfew which the Government has imposed, the typical Friday and Saturday night out has changed.
Many events have been cancelled including the upcoming Guy Fawkes Night on November 5 with Portsmouth’s Gunwharf Quays firework display cancelled due to the ‘safety of guests’ along with London’s New Year’s Eve display on the River Thames.
Christopher Dooner, who runs a pub with his family in Buckinghamshire, says they haven’t been too affected by the changes to closing times on the weekend in terms of takings.
“For us it hasn’t affected takings much, maybe we would take more on a Friday night but I think people make up for it by drinking quicker.
“People seem to have stuck to their same patterns and come in at the same time [not earlier due to earlier closing times]. We have seen more people since we reopened because I think people realised what they missed during lockdown.
“People do respect the rules, it’s possibly more difficult to shut the pub with the curfew only because there is no way we can stay open beyond 10. Even to get rid of the last few.”
Jodie Crayton, a university student and a regular to a social night out, says the curfew hasn’t affected how much she goes out and that she is actually spending more money with the 10pm cut-off time.
“It hasn’t directly impacted the amount of times I go out. It has, however, impacted the length of time I go out meaning I usually go out much earlier in the evening — around 6pm instead of around 8 o’clock. This has meant I’ve spent more time in restaurants and pubs.
“I believe I have spent more money during this time due to the fact I’m spending more time at pubs and restaurants than I previously would. Due to limited time out, I consume a lot more in a shorter amount of time as well. I additionally spend further amounts of money purchasing alcohol to consume at home once we have been asked to leave at 10pm.”
According to research from Kantar, alcohol sales have soared following the 10pm curfew with consumers spending £261 million more on beer, wine and spirits in September 2020 compared to the same period last year.
But has the curfew had a positive or negative affect?
Christopher says it hasn’t had an effect on their business due to most of their takings coming in the afternoon.
“I actually don’t think the 10pm curfew makes any difference, people seem to mingle anyway (maybe different if we were a late night venue). Most of our business tends to come in the afternoon or early evening.”
Jodie suggests it has seen both, but the overall decision will greatly impact the economy and believes it has counteracted the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ Scheme.
“I believe the curfew is having a big impact, especially on the younger generation’s ability to socialise and spend time together. This is directly impacted on the building and sustaining of relationships between people. I think we will see a positive correlation with the curfew and the rise of mental health concerns within younger people.
“But in my opinion, the 10pm curfew sees no greater risk to people than if pubs and restaurants were to stay open until 11 or even 12 o’clock. This is going to drive a real hardship within the economy and has counteracted the success of the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme which it was designed to achieve.”
James Evans, a student who has been affected by Covid after testing positive in October and therefore had to self-isolate, believes the Government haven’t approached it in the correct manner.
“I don’t tend to go out now to pubs and restaurants because I’ve had coronavirus which has made me more cautious in who I come into contact with.
“But I don’t think the 10pm is the best of ideas because it encourages people, especially the younger generation, to stay out later beyond the 10pm closing time which sees them stay in larger gatherings.
“The Government haven’t approached the whole curfew guidelines in the correct way and I believe they could’ve done more.”
