Leeds bar Mojo says bar industry has been 'executed' by lockdown as Tier 3 shuts bars and pubs

Martin Greenhow, the managing director of Mojo bars across the country, has said the rising of the alert level to ‘Very High’ in Leeds is 'the lesser of two evils.'

The Leeds bar, on Merrion Street, will close from Monday to adhere to new restrictions across the city.

Mr Greenhow said: “Tier 2 and Tier 3 is like drowning in salt water or in fresh water, either way you get the same outcome of no customers but it’s just the lesser of two evils.

"The hospitality industry has been criminalised, prosecuted and is now in the process of being executed.”

He also said that consumer confidence has been low for months, with so many fewer people making their way into the city centre.

He added: “It’s not worth us trying to be a restaurant because those in the restaurant trade themselves are struggling enough with reduced capacity, operating hours and no mixed sixes.

“Instead now we are seeing not even ripples but tsunamis across the whole of the economy and society.

“Intervention and support is required now because it’s better to rebuild the whole hospitality industry than start it all from scratch”.

Mojo is a cocktail and rum bar chain with other locations including Manchester and Nottingham who have also been put under Tier 3 restrictions and so forced closure.

Mr Greenhow said the financial assistance he hopes to receive from the government will only just cover rent costs and he is concerned for other overheads that need paying for.

He added: “We as an industry don’t want to keep playing Oliver, we don’t want to keep asking for more but how do we make pension or national insurance contributions and support our staff if we have absolutely no income?”

The new restrictions mean only hospitality venues which can serve substantial meals can stay open, and the Hedonist Bar in Leeds joins Mojo in its standing as serving drinks only.

When Tier 3 restrictions were announced on Thursday, the co-owner of Hedonist Bar on Briggate, Leeds said he welcomed the introduction of the stricter lockdown.

Bruce Lerman, co-owner of Hedonist Bar, welcomed the closures in Tier 3.

He said: “Closure is beneficial to us because consumer confidence is non-existent and part of that is actually because of the curfew rather than the tiered system.

“For a bar of our size, the support given to the council by the government will be able to help us but for some of our peers it won’t be able to touch a fraction.

“This closure just should have started at the beginning of October so that the hospitality industry had a hope in hell at pulling back Christmas trade.”

He also added that since the introduction of the curfew, the bar had lost 60 per cent trading time and turn over had dropped by 70 percent.

Current Tier 3 rules:

According to government guidelines, you must not socialise with anybody you do not live with or haven’t formed a support bubble with, in any indoor setting or in any private garden or at most outdoor hospitality venues and ticketed events.

You must not socialise in a group of more than 6 in an outdoor public space such as a park or beach, the countryside, a public garden or a sports venue.

Pubs and bars must close in Leeds; they can only remain open where they operate as if they were a restaurant, which means serving substantial meals, like a main lunchtime or evening meal. They may only serve alcohol as part of such a meal, the government guidelines state.

Schools, colleges and universities are to remain open in the city.

Places of worship remain open, but household mixing is not permitted.

Weddings and funerals can go ahead with restrictions on the number of attendees.

However, wedding receptions are not allowed.

Exercise classes and organised sport can continue to take place outdoors.

These will only be permitted indoors if it is possible for people to avoid mixing with people they do not live with or share a support bubble with; there are exceptions for supervised activities for under-18s, and disability sport.

You should try to avoid travelling outside the very high alert level area you are in or entering a very high alert level area, other than for things like work, education or youth services, to meet caring responsibilities or if you are travelling through as part of a longer journey.

You should avoid staying overnight in another part of the UK if you are resident in a very high alert level area, or avoid staying overnight in a very high alert level area if you are resident elsewhere.

At the moment the current Tier 2 and Tier 3 rules apply for Christmas, unless the government either relaxes the rules or ends the lockdown before Christmas Day.