Distraught Sunflower pub say ‘sorry folks but we won’t be opening on Friday as planned’

Hours before their planned reopening from Covid-19 lockdown, the Sunflower Public House & Live Music have revealed they won’t be opening.
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In a statement on social media they say: “Sorry folks, but we won’t be opening on Friday as planned.

“The NI Executive Office has completely screwed over the hospitality industry.

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“Again. They have been visiting premises all day today, just 48 hours prior to our scheduled reopening, to tell us that our outside areas do not comply with their new regulations.

“Sunflower cannot open because our garden has 4 walls.”

The post adds: “We have bought stock, we have cleaned, we have bought equipment, we have renewed our bin contracts, we have taken on new staff (who are now not entitled to furlough) and we were genuinely looking forward to welcoming you all back.

“But no, the NI Executive Office have let us go to all this trouble only to pull the rug from under us at the last minute. More debts”.

The implementation of Covid-19 regulations for outdoor hospitality venues in Northern Ireland has been described as “chaos”.

Sunflower Bar - taken from facebook pageSunflower Bar - taken from facebook page
Sunflower Bar - taken from facebook page
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Outdoor restaurants, bars and pubs are set to reopen tomorrow as lockdown restrictions are eased further.

However, some venues have been told they cannot reopen as their outdoor seating areas do not adhere to regulations from the executive.

Hospitality Ulster described the situation as a “critical moment”.

The organisation called for the current regulations to be adapted as “they are not conducive to the proper reopening that the sector was promised”.

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