Altrincham bar bans solo-drinkers to ‘defend prospects’

The proprietor of a cocktail and karaoke bar the place solo drinkers are banned says he’s baffled by the furore it has brought about on social media because the coverage is “for the safety of all guests”.

Carl Peters stated the no-single-entry coverage after 21:00 had been in place for the reason that opening of Alibi in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, in 2022.

He instructed the BBC it was to “mitigate risk” and “protect his customers” from being “mithered” by solo drinkers.

He posted a reel on Instagram earlier this month concerning the coverage after saying somebody had accused him of discrimination. He stated he was “astounded” by the following criticism, describing his venue as an “inclusive and safe environment”.

The ban received a combined response from Instagram customers with one commenter saying she “always feels safe in Alibi”, whereas one other described the coverage as “narrow minded”, including if he finishes work late and goes for a drink himself “he has never once mithered anyone and… happy in my own company”.

Mr Peters defined there have been two the reason why he launched the coverage.

Firstly, if somebody on their very own has a seizure or an accident with no-one with them “in a late night busy bar environment, it’s an absolute nightmare for us to deal with”.

He stated additionally “sometimes if you let people in on their own, the reason why they’re on their own is that they’ve got no-one to talk to, so they start mithering other groups”.

“So what we do as a venue is we just eliminate that.”

He added: “Unless you’re with a group and we know who you’re with, then you’re not coming in.”

Mr Peters added he took “pride that his customers feel safe in his venue” so was “astounded” it was now being criticised on social media.