Belfast hospitality outlets vow to reopen on Saturday saying 'enough is enough'

By Q Radio News and PA Reporter

A set of hospitality outlets in Belfast City Centre have vowed to reopen on Saturday amidst continued deadlock at Stormont as to whether any of the current circuit breaker measures will be eased.

Those reopening include the National, the Dirty Onion and the Ulster Sports Club - all venues owned and run by the Beannchor group.

These outlets initially said they would be opening on Friday. However, clarity came from the Department of Health who confirmed the current circuit-break regulations expire at midnight on Friday, not midnight on Thursday.

In statements, which have been widely shared on Facebook, they say "Enough is Enough

"We’ve waited and waited for Stormont to make a decision on the opening of the Hospitality industry. Our staff don’t have the job luxuries afforded to our so called politicians. The complete lack of leadership, communication and clarity means we will make the decision for them.," the statement says.

In a similar post, the Ulster Sports Bar terms the current deadlock as an "omnishambles."

In its statement, it says, @Who would’ve thought adhering to the law could be considered rebellious?  Well here we are folks. If we don’t hear from Stormont today we’ll be open from 5pm tomorrow. 

"It might be a bit of a bare cupboard, us folk in the real world have to plan ahead for things you see, but we’ll be open. Even if the circus has stalled, the show must go on"

Q Radio News has contacted the Beannchor Group for more details on their reopening.

Speaking earlier to the PA Media, Mr Wolsey, founder of the Beannchor group, a series of pubs, restaurants and hotels, said: “Our politicians are a bit like track and trace – not fit for purpose.

Bill Wolsey standing outside a Little Wing Pizzeria branch in Holywood, Co. Down.

“How can I be sitting here and not knowing if I am able to open tomorrow?

“How do we get to this state?”

He said four weeks ago, when they were put into lockdown, they were told that if they brought the R number down they would be reopening.

Mr Wolsey added: “Here we are with R below 0.7 and still not able to open.

“How did those politicians not talk through these scenarios four weeks ago and agree that?

“It is almost laughable.”

Mr Wolsey, whose Beannchor group includes the five-star Merchant Hotel in Belfast city centre, has been fielding lots of questions from employees about what happens next.

Merchant Hotel, which is owned by the Beannchor Group

“I have not a clue what to say to them,” he said.

“It is completely demoralising that we cannot tell them.

“Morale is on the floor for the whole industry.

“We are the fall guys for this.”

He warned of the dangers of displacement, with people having unregulated house parties, and said police had told him it was a major problem over Halloween.

The veteran businessman, who has more than 40 years’ experience predicted that house parties would recur over Christmas if pubs are not allowed to reopen soon.

“If we cannot open next week or on the 27th, giving us some sort of chance to make some sort of money over Christmas, there will be a tsunami of redundancies in January.”

He said it would be naive of politicians or medical experts to think people would cancel Christmas.

“Parties will transfer to homes – with the associated risk.

“It is like the emperor’s new clothes – the truth of the matter is these rules are being broken left, right and centre.

“There is absolutely no strategy, no longer-term thinking, in this case four weeks.

“We should be thinking this could be with us by the summer and how do we deal with it.”

He said he is not a dangerous employer and hospitality is not a dangerous industry.

Before they were shut down his premises were inspected three times a week.

“I have no desire to increase the R number or spread this dreadful virus but we believe that, by closing us, displacement will raise the R number far more,” he said.