New Wetherspoons opening on site of historic Black Country pub
It may be a strange time to open a new pub - but staff at The Cross Inn say they are "excited and prepared" for business amid the unprecedented times.
The Wetherspoons pub will open on Monday to the general public in High Street, Kingswinford, after a £2.5 million refurbishment.
The opening has been delayed four months due to the coronavirus pandemic but 70 jobs are now being created.
It will open on the site of a former pub, called The Cross, which is a Grade-ll listed building which has been located on the corner of High Street and Moss Grove for at least 200 years.
Gabby Tandy, the pub's manager, said its opening has been "the talk of the town" for the past two years.
Ms Tandy told the Express & Star: "We are looking forward to it. We are expecting it to be busy.
"It has been the talk of the town for a couple of years. It was meant to be opening back in April but this has been delayed due to Covid. I think this has raised everyone's expectations."
It will open with a range of safety measures place, in line with Government guidance, which will see shields placed between customers and social distancing enforced.
Ms Tandy continued: "It is just like anything else, we are prepared.
"I have been involved in the reopening of the company with other pubs.
"We are doing everything we can to keep staff and customers safe.
"It will be good to open and get everyone back to work."
Asked about the safety measures in place, she said: "It is the same as the rest of the company.
"We are doing track and trace.
"We are doing two metre spacing on tables, social distancing measures and screens splitting tables."
