Praying for a pint: Stourbridge bar applies to become place of worship so it can open under Tier 3
A Black Country bar and restaurant has applied to become a place of worship – to allow it to open under Tier 3 restrictions.
The Cock'N'Bull.Co in Stourbridge's High Street has been forced to remain closed after Dudley was placed into the Very High alert category, along with most of the West Midlands.
Pubs and restaurants in Tier 3 are only allowed to offer takeaway, delivery and click and collect services. Those in Tier 2 regions, which includes nearby Worcestershire, can reopen, but only if they provide a 'substantial meal'.
While residents living in a Tier 3 area can attend places of worship for a service – as long as they don't mix with anyone outside of their household or support bubble.
Bosses at the Cock'N'Bull.Co have since applied to the Government for the building premises to become a place of worship.
Posting their application form for 'certifying a place of meeting for religious worship' on Facebook, bosses said: "So places of worship can open in Tier 3 you say Boris. Well in that case, feel free to join the house of Cock'n'Bull – pending approval of course."
But bosses at the popular venue said they were just trying to make their regulars laugh – and didn't expect it to be taken seriously.
Jake Bayliss, one of the managers, said: "We had to remain closed from last week after the updated Tier system was introduced so we are only offering takeaway services at the moment.
"There's a lot of doom and gloom out there, so we just tried to put a little tongue and cheek happy spin on it, to try and make people laugh really.
"We have attempted to register our building as a place of worship because they are able to open in Tier 3.
"We had to fill a form in on the Government website which you send off to the appropriate bodies.
"We are still waiting to hear back, so we don't know if it's been successful. It went down quite well on social media – we got quite a positive response.
"It wasn't really a serious request, it was more to make people laugh and try to brighten their day – rather than actually trying to register to become a place of worship."
Tom Sidaway, a manager at Cock'N'Bull.Co, said: "If we were successful there's a lot of other issues that come with it and we are still a business we have to run at the end of the day, and we couldn't take a huge fine. It was just more publicity for us.
"It has been a difficult few months for us, it hasn't been the best time. December is usually a big part of our year where we do take a lot of money. We will take a massive hit, we are doing takeaways which is what we can do. We can't sell alcohol out the door, which we could do in the summer. It's been really tricky."
Jake added: "The support has been really good from our clientèle – we have had a lot of positive feedback. A lot of people saying they will support us which has been reflected in the business we are doing. Obviously we haven't taken as much money as we would have if we had been open in December.
"But the support we have received from our guests has been invaluable really and kept us going.
"In an ideal world would we like to be open around Christmas, yes absolutely. We miss being open. But we have to deal with what we have been dealt."
