'Our phone has already started ringing' says Sunderland brewery after pubs' reopening confirmed
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But the boss of Sunderland’s Maxim Brewery, producer of famed tipples such as Double Maxim, fears initial restrictions such as customers having to sign in will “cause complications” in particular for smaller bars.
Mark Anderson said: “Our phone has already started ringing with pubs wanting orders.
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Hide Ad“It is one step forward and it will help the bigger companies with bigger premises to space everything out and more staff.
“But what about the smaller pubs or micropubs? Will they have to employ more staff to enforce the social distancing guidelines and will it be worth their while?”
Managing director Mr Anderson, however, was pleased that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement was accompanied by a halving of the two-metre social distancing guidelines.
He added: “What we did not want was some halfway house where the pubs could reopen but the two-metre rule was still in place.
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Hide Ad“By halving the social distancing, more pubs have the chance to serve more customers and it is more likely to be worth their while reopening.”
With breweries needing a fortnight to brew and deliver cask beer to pubs, Maxim has already started bringing some of its seven furloughed workers back.
The brewery, founded following the demise of Sunderland’s fabled Vaux Breweries in 1999, launched a takeaway bottle service to generate revenue after pubs nationwide closed in March just prior to the coronavirus lockdown.
Mr Anderson said: “When the pubs closed overnight we lost 70 per cent of our trade and we were unsure whether we could survive or not.
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Hide Ad“Things were happening very quickly, we did not know about furlough at first and it wasn’t until things started to settle down that we knew whether we could manage or not.
“But by being able to offer a take home service that has enabled us to meet our overheads.”
Mini casks and trays of eight-12 bottles are available by phoning the brewery from 9.30am on (0191) 5848844 with beers then placed on tables by its back doors, at 1 Gadwall Road, Rainton Bridge, near Houghton, on Fridays and Saturdays between 10am-2pm.