Irish pub reopens as 'bar with no beer' to survive Covid-19 restrictions

The bar has undergone renovations and will temporarily reopen as a Café (bridge st / Facebook)

A PUB in Mayo has reinvented itself as a 'bar with no beer' in order to survive the measures introduced to slow the spread of coronavirus.

'Wet pubs' have been closed for more than five months, since the pandemic reached Irish shores in March, and with no guaranteed date for reopening, many publicans are concerned their businesses will not be able to survive the financial impact.

One pub in County Mayo has thought outside the box to allow them to reopen, and now the popular Bridge Street Bar in Castlebar is, for now, a café-- providing coffee and cakes instead of beer and wine.

Bridge St Cafe - Opening this Wednesday 2-8pm
Although pubs still have a way to go in getting back to normal, here at bridge st we can still offer a safe and comfortable space to catch up with a friend, colleague or loved one. pic.twitter.com/zzCf9JDJOo

— bridge st (@bridgestreetbar) August 24, 2020

Announcing the reinvented reopening, the Bridge Street café/bar wrote on Twitter:

"Although pubs still have a way to go in getting back to normal, here at bridge st (sic) we can still offer a safe and comfortable space to catch up with a friend, colleague or loved one.

"We won't be serving pints of beer of G&Ts yet, but you can still chat over a coffee r a non-alcohol beverage and a tasty set of treats."

While Irish people across the country are certainly missing the pub, may are missing the social side of it rather than just the few pints-- and Bridge Street's inventive reopening has proved a hit with locals.

"Great to see creativity alive and showing up," one woman wrote under the bar's announcement on Facebook. "Congratulations on this new journey,"