Alcohol ban restaurants bars Adjusted Level 3

Photo: Pixabay

To the pub! Bars allowed to reopen at Adjusted Level 3, restaurants get ‘booze boost’

With Cyril Ramaphosa confirming ‘the end of the alcohol ban’ for SA, bars and restaurants can now supply customers with liquor during Adjusted Level 3.

Alcohol ban restaurants bars Adjusted Level 3

Photo: Pixabay

Well, we’ll have a drink to that: Cyril Ramaphosa brought some good news to the hospitality industry of South Africa, after he confirmed that the country would move forward to Adjusted Level 3 of lockdown. The announcement means that the alcohol ban will shortly be rescinded, allowing Mzansi’s drinkers to consume booze in bars and restaurants again.

Bars, restaurants can open up and sell liquor – but what are the rules during Adjusted Level 3?

It follows a month of immense pressure maintained by restaurant groups, industry experts, and even the Western Cape Government. All the parties have been extremely vocal in trying to prevent the liquor industry from falling into ruin. In January, SAB confirmed they’d have to pull R1.2 billion in investments from their 2021 proposals.

But there’s a wholly different picture emerging on Monday…

  • – Ramaphosa has confirmed that bars, pubs, and taverns can reopen again, from 10:00 – 22:00, throughout the week.
  • – These establishments will have to close at 22:00, to allow patrons an hour to get home before curfew starts at 23:00
  • – This works in tandem with the relaxation of rules for off-license sales, which are now permitted from Monday to Thursday, 10:00 – 18:00.

Adjusted Level 3 confirmed: Counting the cost of the alcohol ban

Ale restrictions have been brutal for this part of the economy, leaving both bars and restaurants short during the summer months. Of course, the tourist season hasn’t been the same this year due to the pandemic, but this was the third period of prohibition imposed on liquor traders within the last 10 months – it certainly hasn’t been easy for anyone involved.

Thankfully, this latest alcohol ban came to end after a little more than 30 days. The government, who essentially forced a dry January upon its citizens, now accept that conditions are safe enough to launch a localised economic recovery.

Alcohol ban rescinded – and it’s not just the bars and restaurants celebrating

With booze back on the shelves, it also means that bottle stores can open up again. Under Adjusted Level 3 restrictions, off-license stores will be allowed to trade from Monday to Thursday, opening from 10:00 – 18:00 each day. However, these vendors won’t be permitted to operate over the weekend, or during a public holiday.

Alas, many South Africans – buoyed by the falling number of new COVID-19 cases and the arrival of our first one million vaccines on Monday – can now toast this progress properly in their favourite establishments. Cheers indeed!