Pub closures.

[PaulB]

I cannot believe the numbers of pubs that are closing and the speed of closures which seems to be gathering pace.

At first, I was under the assumption that on the whole, it was a good thing as the poorer pubs were the ones closing and leaving the good ones doing more business but not any more.

In a short journey from my home, there is the following and I reckon this is replicated in most places; town centre pub, shuttered up last week, pub open as normal, pub open as normal, pub up for sale, pub open as normal, three town centre pubs open as normal, pub up for sale, former pub now private house, former pub now furniture showroom, former pub now (empty) trendy wine bar, former good pub now poncey restaurant, pub shuttered up.

There are villages round here where the only pub has closed or only opens at weekends when the 2nd home owners who've killed the village off turn up in their 4x4s. There are also pubs you can tell are desperate for business having a last throw of the dice such as £2 pints and £1 halfs permanently to be competitive with Wetherspoons but if that doesn't work, they're gone and will have lost money while doing so.

For some, they deserved to go but there are genuine good pubs being run by good, hard working people out there who are doing everything right but still going under. It's such a shame and the causes are many; the smoking ban, the wealthy in-comers, the greedy brewers, the recession, the cheapo supermarket booze and the cheapo Weatherspoon prices. I really fear for the future of the great British boozer and wonder how many more will close and what the likes of Weatherspoons will charge when all the competition has gone away.

 

[accountantpete]

They are literally just knocking down my local as I post. Usual story - the publicans could have bought their booze cheaper wholesale if they wern't tied to the brewery and if they did well, the rent was increased.

On top of this the Council cracked down on the noise, the smoking ban hit heavily and they suffered two really bad summers in a row.

And the beer was shite.

 

[Globalti]

Try the Robin Hood Inn in Helmshore - great beers, great atmosphere, a thriving busy local. They don't serve food or play loud music, you just go and sit and enjoy a chat and an excellent pint of proper beer. They certainly serve more beer than Euro-fizz.

 

[accountantpete]

Dunno if it's still there but there was a pub on the Hampshire /Sussex border called The Pub With No Name. There are no sign posts and you have to drive half a mile down a dirt track to get to this pub in the middle of a field.

Great food and great beer - worth looking out for.

 

[Bigtwin]

Supermarkets selling fizzy disco piss dirt cheap + brewies and tax man milking publicans = melt down in pubs.

Another great leap forward for our heritage.

 

[Ashtrayhead]

Dunno if it's still there but there was a pub on the Hampshire /Sussex border called The Pub With No Name. There are no sign posts and you have to drive half a mile down a dirt track to get to this pub in the middle of a field.

Great food and great beer - worth looking out for.

What's it called?

 

[accountantpete]

What's it called?

Have just googled it and it does have a name funnily enough - The White Horse.

 

[PaulB]

So it's the White Horse With No Name then?

I went through the desert on one of them.

 

[Kirstie]

We've lost two of our locals in the last year. One is knocked down, the other is still standing, but has a tenancy that nobody wants to take. I can't blame people for not wanting to run pubs these days as it looks like a fairly thankless and risky business!

 

[go_slow]

the publicans could have bought their booze cheaper wholesale if they wern't tied to the brewery and if they did well, the rent was increased.

We've had 3 change of landlords in the last year. The pub was very well run so the brewery put the rent up, the landlord decided they couldnt afford to realistically pay. So they went. The next 2 landlords were people who had this romantic idea of running a pub - being in there with the locals in the evening, some banter, pull some pints. The reality caught up with both of them and we now have a new couple in the place.

They have a background in hospitality so it bodes well, the pub is a lovely little place, off the beaten track so you get locals and determined tourists in there.

After they moved in the brewery turned up and put meters on all the beer and soft drink lines, if they sell anyone elses beer then they get fined. There was an friday night not so long ago - 12 guys from ireland touring the island. They settled on the pub as their venue of choice, the guiness ran out on the friday night. They lost 2 nights of good earnings since they couldnt simply go get more.

 

[accountantpete]

We've had 3 change of landlords in the last year. The pub was very well run so the brewery put the rent up, the landlord decided they couldnt afford to realistically pay. So they went. The next 2 landlords were people who had this romantic idea of running a pub - being in there with the locals in the evening, some banter, pull some pints. The reality caught up with both of them and we now have a new couple in the place.

They have a background in hospitality so it bodes well, the pub is a lovely little place, off the beaten track so you get locals and determined tourists in there.

After they moved in the brewery turned up and put meters on all the beer and soft drink lines, if they sell anyone elses beer then they get fined. There was an friday night not so long ago - 12 guys from ireland touring the island. They settled on the pub as their venue of choice, the guiness ran out on the friday night. They lost 2 nights of good earnings since they couldnt simply go get more.

Crazy isn't it. The Landlady of one of the town pubs has to pay more for her bottled beer than it is in Morrisons - but she mentioned that they have different tops or labels so that the brewery can spot if any publicans are on the "fiddle".

 

[Speicher]

Touching wood even as I write this!
One pub near here closed down, re-opened with new landlord, now closed.

On the positive side, the lbs has expanded, doubled in size. Lucky for them the premises next door to their existing shop became vacant, so expanding without moving.

 

[accountantpete]

Touching wood even as I write this!
One pub near here closed down, re-opened with new landlord, now closed.

I see a lot of this happening - there are loads of lease surfer dudes who just sign up to the introductory 6 month reduced lease package,scam what they can in this period and then move on to another pub.

 

[Dayvo]

So it's the White Horse With No Name then?

That'd be Eric, then!

 

[Arch]

I wonder how many pubs could try and diversify a bit, especially the country ones. The Blacksmiths Arms in Naburn does (or at least did, recently) takeaway pizzas and veg boxes, and certainly still do a weekend breakfast - full English, tea, coffee and the like.

With it being hard for a village to support a shop, a cafe and a pub, why not try and work all three from one business? I'd certainly like it if more pubs were also cafes (IE served tea and coffee willingly, and some home baking), for when I'm out on the bike.