London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 28, 2026

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
Nearly 23,000 UK Households Expected to Move Home on Busiest Day of 2026
UK Benefit Payments to Arrive Early Ahead of August Bank Holiday
Reform UK Pledges to Replace GDPR and Cut Tax Administration Red Tape
Andy Burnham Launches Work Experience Plan for One Million Young People Outside Education or Work
Andy Burnham Faces Labour Backlash After Dropping Support for Political Donations Cap
Andy Burnham Announces UK-Wide Summit With Leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Met Office Warns of Heavy Rain and Flood Risk Across England and Wales After Summer Heat
Bank of England Warns AI Adoption Could Reduce Demand for Automatable Jobs
UK Confirms National Salmonella Outbreak With More Than 200 Cases
UK Airports Handle Record 81 Million Passengers Despite Middle East Disruption
Ofgem Raises UK Energy Price Cap by Four Percent to £1,723
Cyber Attack Hits Customer Data Systems at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands Airports
TSA Unveils Major Airport-Security Overhaul as It Drops Gold+ Privatization Plan
CIA Chief Warned Russia Against Attacking NATO in Secret Moscow Mission
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After Lamborghini Crash
The Secret Dolly Parton Kept Until Her Death: "She Was Much Sicker Than She Let On"
Middlesbrough House Fire Kills Woman and Seven-Year-Old Girl
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Return to UK Amid Renewed Media Attention
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After London Collision
Greenpeace Threatens Legal Action Over Crown Estate Offshore Wind Leasing
Nvidia Revenue Surges to Ninety-Six Point Two Billion Dollars on Artificial Intelligence Demand
Meta Agrees to Global Youth Safety Changes Following Multi-State Legal Settlement
UK Government Plans Autumn Summit With Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Leaders
CMA Caps Veterinary Prescription Fees at Twenty-One Pounds
Thames Water Pilot Records Forever Chemicals at Thirteen Times the Legal Limit
Kent Meningitis Outbreak Reaches Thirty-Four Confirmed Cases
Forty Children Missing From UK Asylum Accommodation Remain Unaccounted For
UK Court Upholds VAT on Private School Fees
US Designates Palestine Action as Foreign Terrorist Organization
UK Approves Massive New Chinese Embassy Complex in London Amid Security Concerns
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Visits Kyiv and Offers Cruise Missile Designs to Ukraine
Glacier Collapse, Not Earthquake, Triggered Deadly Nepal-Tibet Flood
Andy Burnham Drops Plan to Cap Political Donations
Conservative Leadership Contest Intensifies as Robert Jenrick Attacks Kemi Badenoch
French-Born Defence Secretary Wes Streeting Condemns Homophobic Abuse Since Taking Office
UK Government Delays Commercial Robotaxi Rollout in London Over Regulatory Gaps
NHS Complaints About Autism and ADHD Care Waiting Times Triple Over Five Years
UK Government Launches 10,000 Work Placements for Young People With Sainsbury's
NHS England to Offer Free At-Home Cervical Cancer Screening Kits
EU Biometric Border Checks Cause Delays of Up to Five Hours for British Travellers
US Imposes Economic Sanctions on UK-Based Protest Group Palestine Action
Two Planned UK Datacentres Could Produce More Annual Carbon Emissions Than ExxonMobil's Entire UK Operation
London Surgeons Complete First Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Brain Tumour Removal
UK Services Growth Rebounds as Consumer Confidence Reaches Two-Year High
Ofgem Confirms Four Percent October Energy Price Cap Increase for UK Households
Government Considers Insolvency Law Changes to Bring Thames Water Into Public Ownership
Andy Burnham Signs Artificial Intelligence Defence Pact During Visit to Kyiv
Church of England Faces Renewed Scrutiny Over Historical Safeguarding Failures
Reform UK Proposes £30 Tax Credit for Long HMRC Telephone Queues
Greater Manchester Secures More Than £100 Million to Upgrade Victorian Railway Stations
×