Revolution Bars to kick off phased reopening on 6 July

02-Jul-2020 - Last updated on 02-Jul-2020 at 07:03 GMT

First shots: Revolution's CEO Rob Pitcher said: 'we are looking forward to bringing our brands back for our guests to enjoy a place of escapism and have some fun'

Revolution Bars Group has outlined plans to gradually reopen its 74-site stable post-lockdown with measures such as cashless payments and mobile ordering in place.

Founded in 1996, the nationwide bar operator will resume trading at Revolution sites in Bristol, Liverpool Albert Dock, Huddersfield and Brighton as well as Revolución de Cuba in Derby and Manchester on Monday 6 July after a three-month enforced closure.

This leaves 68 sites across the Group’s Revolution and Revolución de Cuba brands which will reopened on a phased basis in the coming weeks and months.

What’s more, it’s been announced that reopened Revolution’s reopened sites will feature protective screens at bars and tables where necessary, floor markings and signage to help guests adhere to distancing rules, protective workwear for team members, as well as more rigorous cleaning measures and readily available hand sanitiser.

On top of this, sites will be table-service only and going cashless from 6 July, with contactless payments preferred where possible. In support of this, Revolution has launched its own order and pay app and digital menus available via QR code.

Revolution will join the likes of brewer and pub operator Greene King in earmarking 6 July as a restart date for sites, with the Suffolk-based business recently outlining plans to reopen 1,294 managed pubs on the same date.

Focus on guest journey

As reported by The Morning Advertiser (MA), Revolution had previously outlined a “best case” scenario in which its 74-strong stable reopened in August and deliver sales of approximately 55% of the prior year.

The Group also announced plans to raise up to £15m through share placings in preparation for life after lockdown and cancel its listing on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market in favour of London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) – which it will join on 27 July.

“The safety of our guests and teams is our top priority and we have been working hard behind the scenes over the last few months to find ways to be able to get the party started again in the safest way possible,” Revolution’s CEO Rob Pitcher explained.

“By taking a phased approach to opening our venues, the improvements we’ve made to the bookings platform on our brands websites, and with our team members trained to the highest standard of safe operating procedures, we can ensure our guests and teams are as safe as possible.

“We are looking forward to bringing our brands back for our guests to enjoy a place of escapism and have some fun. We can’t wait to be all together again (from a distance of course).”

Head of sales, Rachel Lane added: “the system will enable our sales teams to focus on relationship building and really adding value for our guests, plus enabling them to spend more time on lead generation and growing our business.

“The guest journey is vastly improved by being able to manage booking detail whenever and however they wish.”