London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 15, 2025

Covid Wales: How are pubs faring as alcohol ban starts?

Covid Wales: How are pubs faring as alcohol ban starts?

Pubs and restaurants have had the first full day of trading without being able to serve alcohol.

The entire hospitality sector was also told it must close its doors from 6pm every night, in a bid to curb rising Covid cases before Christmas.

Some in the industry fear many venues will not recover from the latest restrictions.

Others have reported a boom in daytime table bookings, despite a ban on alcohol.

Ben Browne, owner of the Pitch Bar and Eatery on Cardiff's normally bustling Mill Lane said bookings have been decimated, and he will be forced to close during the week.

He said they normally serve about 250 diners on a Saturday, but with the loss of evening trade, it was down to just 30 for the day.

"Turnover wise, we are forecast to take somewhere between 15 and 20% of what we have normally on a Saturday," he said.

"We normally have 70-100 people for Sunday lunch.

"But we've had so many pull out, we're down to 12 so it's not viable to open - it won't cover the chef's wages.

"I don't know if it's lack of choice or people being scared off."


Cardiff's Mill Lane was one of the city's busiest streets for food and drinks - but now trade is suffering due to the pandemic


He said they have taken a decision to only open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, in the hope the business can survive the restrictions.

"My worry is people think it will go back to normal in two weeks, that is the public perception, but I don't think it will," he added.

"There will be no chance of a New Year's Eve and we will be closed until January.

"I really am worried about what it is going to be like on the other side of Christmas though, a lot are holding on because of December trade."


They may have only been able to serve non-alcoholic wine and beers - but business was booming at the Gwaelod y Garth Inn


But outside the city centre, it is a different story for others in the industry.

At the Gwaelod y Garth Inn in the busy commuter-belt village on Cardiff's outskirts, business has been booming.

"We opened for breakfast at nine-thirty, and we were fully booked," said the pub's manager Rob Pearson.

"We're fully booked for lunch today, and we're fully booked tomorrow - it's bonkers.

"We phoned everyone who had booked for Sunday lunch to ask if they still wanted to come - 175 people. Every single table is confirmed."

He said the village had "rallied round".

"It's too early to see how the no-alcohol sales will affect us.

"We've managed so far. The staff have been throwing ideas around. If you surround yourself with a good team you will have a good business."

A review of the latest restrictions will take place on 17 December, but First Minister Mark Drakeford has already warned there needs to be "a sustained fall" in the number of coronavirus cases to reverse the alcohol ban.

"We would need to see figures coming down across Wales, we need to see a sustained fall in those numbers and be clear that the trajectory is heading down as well," he told a briefing on Friday.

Conservative leader in the Senedd, Paul Davies, said the national approach from the Welsh Government was unfair on areas with low Covid rates.

Plaid Cymru said hospitality was "paying the price" for a lack of stricter measures after the firebreak lockdown ended on 9 November.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Man Who Threw Sandwich at Federal Agents in Washington Charged with Assault – Identified as Justice Department Employee
A Computer That Listens, Sees, and Acts: What to Expect from Windows 12
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
UK has added India to a list of countries whose nationals, convicted of crimes, will face immediate deportation without the option to appeal from within the UK
Southwest Airlines Apologizes After 'Accidentally Forgetting' Two Blind Passengers at New Orleans Airport and Faces Criticism Over Poor Service for Passengers with Disabilities
Russian Forces Advance on Donetsk Front, Cutting Key Supply Routes Near Pokrovsk
It’s Not the Algorithm: New Study Claims Social Networks Are Fundamentally Broken
Sixty-Year-Old Claims: “My Biological Age Is Twenty-One.” Want the Same? Remember the Name Spermidine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
U.S. Investigation Reports No Russian Interference in Romanian Election First Round
Oasis Reunion Tour Linked to Temporary Rise in UK Inflation
Musk Alleges Apple Favors OpenAI in App Store Rankings
Denmark Revives EU ‘Chat Control’ Proposal for Encrypted Message Scanning
US Teen Pilot Reaches Deal to Leave Chile After Unauthorized Antarctic Landing
Trump considers lawsuit against Powell over Fed renovation costs
Trump Criticizes Goldman Sachs Over Tariff Cost Forecasts
Perplexity makes unsolicited $34.5 billion all-cash offer for Google’s Chrome browser
Kodak warns of liquidity crisis as debt obligations loom
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Taylor Swift announces 12th studio album on Travis Kelce’s podcast after high-profile year together
South Korean court orders arrest of former First Lady Kim Keon Hee on bribery and corruption allegations
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
JD Vance to meet Tory MP Robert Jenrick and Reform’s Nigel Farage on UK visit
Trump and Putin Meeting: Focus on Listening and Communication
Instagram Released a New Feature – and Sent Users Into a Panic
China Accuses: Nvidia Chips Are U.S. Espionage Tools
Mercedes’ CEO Is Killing Germany’s Auto Legacy
Trump Proposes Land Concessions to End Ukraine War
New Road Safety Measures Proposed in the UK: Focus on Eye Tests and Stricter Drink-Driving Limits
Viktor Orbán Criticizes EU's Financial Support for Ukraine Amid Economic Concerns
South Korea's Military Shrinks by 20% Amid Declining Birthrate
US Postal Service Targets Unregulated Vape Distributors in Crackdown
Duluth International Airport Running on Tech Older Than Your Grandmother's Vinyl Player
RFK Jr. Announces HHS Investigation into Big Pharma Incentives to Doctors
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Security flaws in a carmaker’s web portal let one hacker remotely unlock cars from anywhere
Street justice isn’t pretty but how else do you deal with this kind of insanity? Sometimes someone needs to standup and say something
Armenia and Azerbaijan sign U.S.-brokered accord at White House outlining transit link via southern Armenia
Barcelona Resolves Captaincy Issue with Marc-André ter Stegen
US Justice Department Seeks Release of Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury Exhibits Amid Legal and Victim Challenges
Trump Urges Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to Resign Over Alleged Chinese Business Ties
Scotland’s First Minister Meets Trump Amid Visit Highlighting Whisky Tariffs, Gaza Crisis and Heritage Links
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
×