THE PUBLIC have been thanked for their support by the team of a hotel and restaurant in St Bees.

The Manor, a hotel and restaurant in St Bees reopened their beer garden to the public on April 12, making the most of an easing of Coronavirus restrictions and an improvement in the weather.

Reopening after Lockdown has surpassed all expectations and the public have been thanked for getting behind an independent Copeland business.

General manager Nicola Rafferty said: “We’ve had a fantastic two weeks. The plan was to open for that Monday and then open just for weekends for the next five weeks.

“Due to popular demand” the staff are running the hotel and restaurant’s beer garden through the whole week.

“Our trade has been phenomenal” said Nicola.

“We have 27 tables in our beer garden” and “weather permitting” the beer garden is open Tuesday to Sunday from 12 until 6pm.

It is a relief for the staff to see the business bounce back from a difficult period for independent traders, particularly for those in the hospitality industry.

“It’s obviously been a tough year for the hospitality industry across the board.

But she said: “The phone never stops you can only do what you can do. I feel sorry for the people who aren’t able to operate at this time, we’ve been lucky that we’ve got a beer garden.”

Nicola paid tribute to the team behind the scenes.

“We’ve got a really good small team that have gone above and beyond any expectations I could have of them as a manager.”

She added that the public have been eager to return after spending so much time in Lockdown.

Whilst some businesses are making the heartbreaking decision to close, the main street hotel is taking on more staff.

“We’re going to recruit for the demand.”

It is an exciting time for everyone involved in the business.

“We just can’t wait to get the hotel side open and all the Coast to Coast people back.”

In a post to their patrons on their Facebook page, a spokesperson for the business said: “We cannot thank you enough for the overwhelming support we have had these past 2 weeks at the Manor.

“We ordered another 15 additional benches for last weekend and filled them all on both slots.”

We want to hear about more businesses who are going above and beyond for their customers, send in your nominations for the next Trader of the Week.