Welcome Back: RIAC Club House & Restaurant to re-open from Monday

We are delighted to confirm that the RIAC Club House and restaurant will re-open as planned on Monday, 29th June. This is in line with phase 3 of the Government Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business.

All our staff are incredibly pleased to welcome our members back, and while we want to keep things as normal as possible, we have taken a wide number of measures to ensure your safety, comfort, and enjoyment. 

Below I will walk you through some of the key changes you will experience as a member when re-entering the RIAC Club House and Restaurant from Monday. 

RIAC Member & Staff Safety Programme Experience: 

We would kindly ask our members not to visit the club if they are feeling unwell or have symptoms of COVID-19. 

On arrival at the club, all members and guests must enter via the Car Park entrance only where you will be greeted by a staff member. If you are you using the car park only, please click here to review the procedures outlined in my previous communication. 

If you are entering the club house, the following new procedures have been put in place for the safety and reassurance of our members and staff. 

Firstly, we will request that you are temperature tested at the entrance to the club house. A temperature below 38.4 degrees Celsius is required. If your temperature is at or above this, you will be asked to seek medical attention or else wait in an isolated area for 10-15 minutes to be re-tested. 

Secondly, if your temperatures are normal, you and your guests will be asked for your names and contact details (for COVID Tracing Purposes only).

Finally, you and your guests will be asked to sanitise your hands before entering the club house. This is for the comfort of all members and staff. 

On entering the club house, you are free to enjoy our facilities including the reading room and restaurant. If you choose to go to the restaurant, please do so from the ground floor by the main stairway in the lobby. 

On entering the restaurant, a queuing system for food will be in operation to observe current social distancing guidelines. Our kitchen and restaurant staff will be wearing Personal protective Equipment (PPE) and will be strictly adhering to all HACCP system and food safety requirements. 

After ordering food from the restaurant counter as normal, you will be asked to seat yourself while maintaining current social distancing guidelines between tables. Hand sanitiser will be available on your table for you to use. A restaurant staff member will serve your food order directly to your table when ready, wearing a face guard.

When settling your bill, a payment corridor will be laid out to allow you to move towards the till while avoiding contact with other members. A table will be available for you to place your form of payment on and stand back to facilitate social distancing. A staff member will then move forward, process your payment, and return your card to the table along with your receipt (if required). Contactless payment is preferred, and your RIAC membership card or credit/debit card will be sanitised by our staff before and after use. Our staff will use a clean set of disposable gloves for each transaction.

On leaving the restaurant, we would ask you to make your way to the ground floor through the boardroom down the back stairway via the boardroom, which will be clearly displayed with Exit signs. 

If using the ground floor toilets at any point, please take the back stairway via the boardroom and always keep two meters from staff and other members. We have covered the middle wash basins in both bathrooms and the middle urinal in the men’s bathroom to facilitate this social distancing. Anti-bacterial wipes and spray are available in the cubicles to allow you to wipe down any surfaces you have touched.

When leaving the club house, all members are asked to please exit via the Dawson Street door, even if collecting their cars from the Car Park. This is to maintain our one-way system for entrance and exit to the club and minimise unnecessary contact. If you are collecting a vehicle, please follow the car park procedure as outlined in my previous communication. 

I hope that these new protocols and procedures do not cause you too much inconvenience, but I would like to reiterate that they are in place for the safety of our members and staff, which is of paramount importance to us. 

As always, we will continue to follow HSE & government advice and keep you informed of any club developments. Finally, it gives me great pleasure in welcoming you back to the RIAC Club House and Restaurant.

Kind regards

Leo Hassett
CEO, RIAC