Soap Bar in Stockholm before the pandemic forced it to implement social distancing.
Photo: Soap BarBars and clubs, designed for patrons to socialize, are grappling with how to reopen in an era of social distancing.
As coronavirus lockdowns ease, venues that rely on having crowds of drinkers interacting with each other, often in confined spaces and with fewer inhibitions, are rethinking their spaces and changing how they do business, or deciding to stay shut.
“It is hard for these venues to open up, especially night clubs where the number one product is alcohol, and to have social distancing guidelines where you have to be six to 10 feet apart,” said Juan Carlos Diaz, president of the American Nightlife Association, a trade body. “It looks barren when you open the doors, what kind of atmosphere do you have?”
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The difficulty of safely restarting nightlife was highlighted recently in South Korea, when a man who didn’t know he had Covid-19 visited several clubs in Seoul. He didn’t follow social distancing guidelines, according to the mayor’s office, setting off a spate of infections that triggered the suspension of 2,000 nightlife venues.
In the U.S., bars are being allowed to reopen in some states but are up against strict restrictions. In Texas, bars are permitted to reopen Friday at 25% capacity, half the allowance made to restaurants. Other states, like Florida and Nebraska, have allowed restaurants to reopen but for now bars are closed.
In Austin, Texas, The Brass Tap will have fewer tables, groups of chairs limited to six and beer served in disposable plastic cups.
“The place will look empty but it doesn’t matter to us so long as it can get started back up,” said Lewis Smith, the craft beer bar’s general manager, ahead of reopening.
Some bars and clubs say they won’t reopen until social distancing guidelines are withdrawn, citing the cost of operating with fewer patrons. Owners say they need to run at a higher capacity than many restaurants because drinkers typically spend less than those sitting down for a meal.
A patron sips a drink at Papa's Blue Spruce Resort pub in Lake Geneva, Wis.
Photo: Armando L. Sanchez/Zuma PressThe ANA is lobbying for a moratorium on rents and mortgages, asking payment processors to lower credit card fees and helping bars apply for temporary licenses to serve food so they can offer home delivery or pickup as states relax restrictions to allow for this.
In Britain, pubs and clubs must remain closed until at least July. A recent survey of venues by the Night Time Industries Association, a U.K. trade body, found 43.1% of the 130 respondents said they would need social distancing requirements removed to restart business.
“We’re at the very sharp end of this relative to any sort of licensed premise,” said Michael Grieve, managing director of Sub Club in Glasgow, a basement nightclub with capacity for 410 people. “The whole experience is about a shared emotional, and at its best euphoric, experience. Realistically you can’t achieve that with two meters, or really any, social distancing.”
Mr. Grieve said his club needs to operate at over 90% capacity to be economically viable since his customers, many of whom are young with low disposable income, come mostly to dance and listen to music. He doesn’t foresee reopening until next year.
Sweden never went into lockdown but its government is requiring bars to serve customers seated at tables which must be spread out.
Stockholm’s Soap Bar, which used to welcome 700 to 800 people a day through its doors before the pandemic, has added tables, cut staff and slashed capacity to 70 people from 360, said manager Oscar Tornell. People in romantic relationships can sit close together, friends are asked to stay an arm’s length apart and groups seated at separate tables must maintain a two-meter distance.
Although revenue is down sharply, drinkers have mostly adapted and Soap Bar hasn’t had any trouble with the police who regularly check the venue, said Mr. Tornell. “We’re losing some money but are far better off than some other places and we just want to be able to keep staff for the future,” he said.
In Berlin, where eateries can reopen but not bars or clubs, Sisyphos nightclub has refashioned itself. Housed in a former factory, the club has turned its outdoor space into an open-air restaurant. Dancing is banned and the club, known for its 48-hour parties, is now open from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Index, a dance club in the German town of Schüttorf, has organized drive-in raves. Car-bound revelers honk and wave glow sticks parked in front of strobe lights and towering DJ booths.
In Australia, New South Wales is only allowing bars and pubs with kitchens to reopen, alcohol must be sold alongside food and capacity is capped to provide four square meters per person up to a maximum of 10 customers.
Those who rely on bars, clubs and tap rooms including musicians, DJs, bartenders, brewers and distillers, are also hurting from closures.
An April survey of 118 distillers by the Distilled Spirits Council, a U.S. trade body, found that 42% of respondents anticipated being unable to sustain their businesses for more than three months.
Anheuser Busch InBev SA, the world’s largest brewer, recently said its global volumes—a third of which are from venues like bars and restaurants—dropped by 32% in April.
In China, business has almost recovered at restaurants but customers have been slower to return to bars, karaoke venues and nightclubs, said AB InBev.
It has sent personal protective equipment to venues, helped bars navigate government regulations and provided plexiglass separators. In some countries it has launched campaigns encouraging people to prepay for food or pints that can be redeemed when bars open, matching the amount they spend so venues get twice the money now.
A task force at the Budweiser brewer is searching for other ways to mitigate problems faced by the venues it relies on for sales.
“We will have to be very creative,” said Pedro Earp, AB InBev’s chief marketing officer.
Write to Saabira Chaudhuri at saabira.chaudhuri@wsj.com
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