'The first day the pubs, bars and barbers returned' - this is what happened when businesses in Wakefield reopened

Visiting a supermarket or garden centre is one thing but giving the green light to pubs, bars, cafes, restaurants, hairdressers and a range of other businesses posed plenty of new challenges.

Most people wouldn’t have had their cut hair from behind a plastic shield before or expected table service in the most traditional of Wakefield pubs – but Saturday, July 4 offered the clearest example yet of what the city will look like in the coming weeks.

Some businesses were cautiously optimistic about returning while others decided they didn’t have enough time to prepare and postponed.

Layla Baker, who owns Lobby 1867 on Westgate, said: “It’s so frustrating seeing lots of negativity about the weekend on national news, when actually, we put it down as a roaring success.”

She said her bar had a one way system, starting with a “sanitation station before customers’ track and trace details were recorded, then orders were taken as customers sat at socially distanced tables.

Kraft Barbers on Wood Street returned to action on Saturday alongside the recently opened Kraft Coffee.

Despite the lockdown the new coffee shop, run by Antony and Lisa de Csernatony, was a longstanding ambition and the couple decided to open the new business last month. Antony said:

“Now more than ever is the time to celebrate Wakefield getting back to its best. Wakefield already has a great offering in terms of its nighttime economy and we are here to build on that and support the local economy”.

Martin Poole from The Lockwood on the Bullring said customers followed the rules.

He said: “It was great to see a lot of people adhere to the social distancing and was great to see everyone enjoying getting out. A big massive thank you to all that helped make this work.”

Ossett Brewery’s taproom, located at the brewery itself, was the first of the company’s bars to reopen.

And The King’s Arms at Heath Common will open today as the brewery prioritises pubs with big outdoor spaces.

More of the pubs run by the brewery, including The Hop and Fernandes in the city centre, will open later this month.

Owner Jamie Lawson said: “It’s great the pubs are, opening it’s a start. Outside spaces are been important to us and our success will depend in many ways on if the sun shines.”

The city’s restaurant and dining sector also reported a steady return to business.

Harry Joannou, owner of Neptune Diner, said: “All things considered everything went very well on Saturday even though we were a little more quiet than normal.

“It was great to see old faces and quite a few new ones.

“We tried very hard to make everyone feel comfortable in their surroundings and all the customers were extremely understanding in all we asked of them, whether that being using the hand sanitisers socially distancing or giving us their details to assist with the track and trace system. It feels like everyone has become almost numb to these kind of requests.

“Unfortunately for all of us this is the new norm for the considerable future and so we all have to make the most of it.”

Jenny Thompson and her staff at restaurants Qubana on Wood Street, Robatary and Fino, both on Northgate, have spent weeks preparing for the big reopening. She said: “It went really

well. We had great customer feedback and staff all felt happy and comfortable, so we just need to make sure we maintain it.”