AFTER a difficult few months, popular Northwich pub The Salty Dog is now ready to welcome back customers.

The High Street boozer will open the doors to its Tiki-style beer garden today, Thursday, and join other hospitality venues, which reopened on April 12, in serving people outside.

Area manager Ant Ridgway and colleague Dom Ogden have been putting the final touches in place at the craft beer and music venue and they’re feeling optimistic about the future.

“It’s been very difficult over the past couple of months. A lot of us have been sat on our hands, just itching to go,” said Ant. “We’ve been scratching the walls, just ready to get back to it.

“We’re all set up to go, so are just looking forward to welcoming people back. We’ve got our beer garden out the back ready to go.

"Access to that is through a side gate outside of the building so there will be no need for anyone to walk through the building. We’ve got sanitising stations set up and it will be table service for everyone.

“We’ll also be offering take-outs to anyone wanting to go and use the new outdoor space across the road where the outdoor market used to be. 

“In terms of the plans moving forward from there we’re just waiting until the next big announcement in June when we can hopefully go full capacity again. We’re looking at fully hitting the ground running come June if we’re good to go.

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“We’re massively looking forward to getting back to it, seeing people again and doing the job again. We’ve done quite a bit in terms of restricted gigs, and we may do a bit more of that, but we’re trying to keep a nice spectrum for all people to come to, to make it as inclusive as possible for as many people as  possible.

“We’re jumping in with hopeful optimism. We’ve not exactly got our entire foot in the water, but we’ve got certainly got all of our toes in there.

“We’re ready for it. We know it may not happen, because we have been here before, but we’re pushing forward as if it is.

"Watching people come past on Monday, in comparison to what it was like just last week, has been really encouraging and that’s with only a few more cafes and pubs open – it’s heartening to see other people.

"We can’t wait to get back to it and think everyone feels the same now, we just want to get back to normal.”