THERE was definitely reason to celebrate last weekend, as pubs and restaurants across the country opened their doors for the first time since March.

Dubbed ‘Super Saturday’, establishments were given permission to finally open their doors last Saturday (July 4) after three months of strict lockdown came to an end.

Tough measures had previously forced pubs to close on March 21.

However, they can now open as long as they adhere to guidelines in place to prevent the potential spread of Covid-19.

“There were some people talking down the concept of the hospitality sector getting back to work and starting to serve their communities again,” said Clare Cheeseman, general manager at The Lost Boy, Farnham, who chose to open their doors on Saturday.

Reflecting on the weekend, she said it was “entirely positive”, adding residents were happy to see the pub re-opened.

“They were respectful of each other, their surroundings and our retrained team and we had nothing but compliments about our food and service, with several guests expressing how much safer they felt than they’d expected,” Clare said.

“We have a table-only policy now, whether you are drinking or eating. We knew we’d be busy, but our guests helped us by listening to our advice to book in advance.

“I really feel we’ve made a good start.”

Oakman Inns, the company behind The Lost Boy, also unveiled a mobile app on Tuesday (July 7), whereby visitors can now order to their table via their mobile, or use the pub’s click-and-collect service.

Also making the decision to open was The Duke of Cambridge in Tilford, managed by pub operator Red Mist Leisure.

Speaking to the Herald, managing director Mark Robson told of how the organisation’s top priority was keeping the public safe.

Mark said: “The weekend was good.

“There was a lot of new information and training we had to give our staff to ensure we were good to open, and we just wanted to be safe for our customers.

“Our biggest concern as a business was opening up our pubs and reassuring our staff and customers that we were operating in the safest manner.”

Mark also reflected on the weekend’s weather, which he said aided the industry to “keep a lid on numbers”.

“We operated our pubs at only 60 per cent capacity, but we know giving our customers confidence is key – and this gives them confidence to come back.”

However, Mark did say he was unhappy with how the mainstream media had reported on the weekend.

“We had seen some stuff that was reported of the pubs in London with overcrowding across various locations, but it just wasn’t representative of the whole community,” he said.

“It is massively unhelpful and is not a reflection of the whole industry.”

Also speaking to the Herald was Paul Pyrgoudes, manager of Yia Yia’s at The Fox, as the pub also returned on Saturday.

“It was fantastic to see people out and enjoying themselves,” Paul said.

“It wasn’t crazy because we asked customers to books for the day, so had a very structured and organised approach.

“We had some technical glitches with our ordering mobile application, but we overcame those pretty quickly.”

Paul told the Herald of how the pub chose to maintain the two-metre social distancing rule, adding: “There is a reason it was two metres before, and it’s important we see we have a responsibility to look after our customers and staff.”

Looking ahead to the future, Paul added: “The numbers for bookings are now going up – slowly but surely we will get back to normal.”

Some pubs across the Herald area also made the decision not to open, despite government guidelines now making this a possibility.

Posting to their customers online, The Railway Arms in Alton confirmed they had pushed back their opening day from Saturday to yesterday (Wednesday), as they conducted further training for their staff and allowed time for more health-and-safety measures to be implemented.

The Castle Inn, Farnham, is set to open tomorrow (Friday), reminding customers that booking for food or drinks, both in and outside of the pub, was essential and could be done at https://bit.ly/2CZzjc0

Also sharing an update was The Mill at Elstead, which plans to open next Wednesday (July 15).

Sharing a message online to customers, they said: “We have been watching the wildlife grow up and take over, and very much look forward to welcoming more humans through our doors.

“All tables are set at least one metre apart and we will be operating on both floors inside with table service only, and the garden bar will be open for food and drink service.

“Please be aware that capacity will be reduced while we all become accustomed to ‘the new normal’.”