Landmark Black Country venue Mad O’Rourkes Pie Factory celebrates planned lifting of restrictions

It’s been a long, dreary 15 months of restrictions – but the hospitality sector can now look forward to at last returning to normal following this evening’s announcement from the Prime Minister.

With social distancing rules set to be scrapped, bar and restaurant owners across the UK can now rejoice; finally they are once again able to fill their venues to full capacity and start to pull in some much-needed cash.

Many will also be delighted that bar service can once more resume and the wearing of masks will no longer be mandatory.

Among those celebrating the easing of restrictions is Peter Towler, owner of landmark Black Country restaurant and bar Mad O’Rourkes Pie Factory – who introduced a new venture to the business, Pies by Post – selling its famous pies online to customers across the UK to help the business pivot during the last lockdown.

When it comes to ordering from the bar and food kiosk at the Tipton venue, Peter says he is planning to allow customers the choice – maintaining table service for those who would like it.

The Hurst Lane destination boss says he will be keeping outdoor dining too; both for customers’ peace of mind, but also as people’s habits have changed during the pandemic. There will also be the option of screens at tables if customers want them.

“We’re looking forward to relaxing a little, but we’ll still be keeping an eye out to see how everything goes,” said Peter, aged 60.

“We’ve got a nice garden area which people are able to use if they want to. People just enjoy sitting outside now, so we’re looking to extend the outside area and install more outdoor heating and undercover areas, so this area can also be used in the winter months.

“We’ll be keeping table service, but as we consider customer interaction to be very important, we’re looking at investing in an electronic programme which will be used by waiting staff coming to people’s tables, rather than an app used by customers. This means the orders will go straight to the kitchen and bar, increasing the overall efficiency.

“We’re hugely excited to be able to once again go up to maximum capacity, though we do currently have screens between tables which are mobile – so if anyone feels uneasy sitting close to another table, we can happily put those in place for them.

“As for face coverings, we’re going with whatever the Government advises. It’s all a learning curve, it’s all new, but we’re happy to see how it goes.

“We’re very much looking forward to returning to some form of normality.

“We’ve been extremely fortunate to have done better than expected during the pandemic, but we certainly welcome the easing of restrictions.

“We feel like we need to move forward now – and really hope it will be the right move.”