Coronavirus: Bars and nightclubs float distanced dancefloors
Friday, 8 May 2020
Level 2 means Friday night drinks are back on, but not as we know it.
The details of alert level 2 laid out by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Thursday mean for the first time in more than six weeks, Kiwis will be able to mix bubbles and hit the town once we leave level 3 – a decision Cabinet will make on May 11.
But there will be restrictions, and only venues abiding by the 'three S's' will be allowed to operate.
Making sure everyone is seated, separated and tables are waited on by single servers means bars across the country are scrambling to re-vamp their business models in order to reopen.
**READ MORE:
* Coronavirus: What you can, and can't do, socially under Covid-19 Alert Level 2
* Can we brunch? How cafes and restaurants will operate in coronavirus level 2
* Coronavirus: Bar experience 'out the window' under alert level 2
**
If level 2 goes ahead, nightclubbing and bar-hopping as we know it will look a lot different.
No more bumping and grinding, instead it will be sitting and sipping as the first 'S' only allows a venue to hold as many people as it can safely seat.
Dance floors will be a no-go as well, although some operators are working on ways for patrons to have a boogie, within the rules.
The manager of a bar on Auckland's K' Rd, who did not want to be named, told Stuff he had applied to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) for permission to run their dance floor on a rotation system, meaning each 'bubble' or table would get their own turn for an allotted period of time.
The floor would then be cleared, cleaned, and ready to go for the next group.
MBIE approval seems unlikely as a similar solution mooted by the typically busy Danger Danger, in Wellington's popular Courtenay Place was turned down.
Owner Matt McLaughlin wanted to shift his dance floor up on to the mezzanine area of his bar and run a similar one group in, one out, system, but that idea was shut down by government officials, he said.
Restaurant Association chief executive Marisa Bidois said what was laid out for level 2 was 'a high level overview' and the group were seeking more information.
'We are currently seeking clarification on a number of points which will allow us to prepare the operational guidelines for the industry, with approval from Government,' she said.
'These will be drafted over the weekend and presented to the Government before being rolled out to the industry.'
But it's not all doom and gloom for bars.
Some, like OGB in Christchurch, are already set up to effectively accommodate the new guidelines.
Owner Nick Inkster said he couldn't help but rejoice as Ardern read out what the three S's would entail.
'We already do pretty much everything that's required, so I don't want to say we're away laughing, but we are very much ready and prepared to open under level 2 without having to make sweeping changes,' he said.
OGB is a table service establishment, and wait staff operate in sections so there is only one staff member assigned to any given table on a normal trading day.
'I have always said we're in the service game, so we serve people at the table as is,' Inkster said.
'Little things will change, obviously keeping the venue under 100 people and sanitising each table after a group leaves. But for the most part it will be business as usual.'
In Auckland, the popular Longroom bar will also be looking at ways they can make the most of level 2, though will be applying more of a wait and see approach when it comes to patrons hitting the dance floor.
Owner Richard Bagnall said his team were excited to see what level 2 looked like for the late-night hospitality sector.
But the high music, low lights atmosphere would have to be tweaked.
'We're excited to get our customers back in but yes, it will be a different vibe for sure,' he said.
'The guidelines laid out, thankfully for us, are easy enough to work with..
'Everyone sitting down is going to be a different look and feel but definitely that same good energy we always deliver.'