The bar and cafe in the tower at Tower Gardens by Skeldergate reopened today, selling hot food and drinks to takeaway customers only.
It will be open from Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm during the lockdown period.
Owner Jean Dill said social distancing and COVID-19 safety measures have been put in place for customers, including white markings on the riverside path to indicate where people can line up two meters apart. He said that the measures are being taken.
He said one of the reasons for reopening was to bring some fun into people's lives during the second lockdown.
“People are crying out for something to be done. They're excited in some way. We don't know how long this situation will last. I hope this brings some joy to their daily walks,” he told reporters. I hope.''
The cafe will also offer hot drinks such as coffee, tea and hot chocolate, as well as hot food to take away such as goulash, soups and new toasts.
You can also buy alcoholic beverages to take home, including plenty of hot chocolate, hot mulled cider and hot gin toddy.
Dill's operated under similar standards during the first lockdown, and Jean said she thought long and hard about reopening this time.
He said: “We were going to take a couple of weeks off and rest. It's been a really intense year with constant changes and new restrictions. It's been really tough. We've been trying to reset and do other things. I thought I'd check on the people there,” he said. We didn’t know how this lockdown was going to turn out.
“Four or five days ago, we took a leap of faith. We decided to bring some guys back and just give it a go.”
He wanted to give a special thank you to Focusing Events for the use of their gazebo, saying, “It's great to see businesses supporting businesses!”
