The first week of lockdown easing couldn’t have been more successful for businesses in the city, with one pub in particular serving in excess of 3,600 covers.

As the sun shone, punters came out in droves at the weekend to celebrate the reopening of beer gardens and outdoor restaurants.

Salisbury looked full of life as groups of friends and family gathered to enjoy the return of outdoor hospitality for the first time in more than four months.

Between Monday April 12 and Sunday April 18, the Old Mill Hotel served 3,667 covers – all outdoors.

Manager Tommy Roberts said: “The Great British public definitely missed going to the pub. [The weekend] was extremely busy, everyone was very courteous and understanding of the new ways of working and I think that pretty much the majority of people were just happy to be out and about again.”

One of the main changes brought in as a result of the pandemic is outdoor table service.

However, Mr Roberts says this has been well received by customers who can now sit down and relax without having to wait at the bar.

The only thing he’d like to remind punters is to download the NHS app, called NHS Covid-19, for track and trace purposes.

“Some people forget to do it or refuse to do it but it really does help us operationally if they can scan a QR code rather than having to write down their details,” he said.

“If they can have the app downloaded and ready to go, it saves everyone a lot of time.”

Salisbury Journal: Enjoying a drink outdoors at The Bishop’s Mill Enjoying a drink outdoors at The Bishop’s Mill

The Bishop’s Mill was also heaving at the weekend, welcoming back customers, old and new.

However, for the business to be financially viable, it is vital that society is fully unlocked as set out in the Government’s roadmap, the manager stressed.

Emilia Raimondi-Baker, general manager, said: “It’s great to be back open again and we’ve been watching the weather forecast avidly for the past week. Seeing the smiles on customers’ faces has been the best thing of all. It’s fantastic for some of our customers to get back to their local pub and have the chance to reconnect with communities.

“However, while opening our garden is good, if we’re to trade profitably we need all restrictions to be lifted on June 21 as laid out in the Government’s roadmap.

“We’ve been lucky so far with the April weather and we can only hope this continues. It is hard to trade viably at the moment but hopefully when we can open indoors again without restrictions, we’ll be able to bounce back to a much greater extent.”

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