Pubs that are now Closed
Has anyone's local closed down?
The Wych Way Inn (my local) closed down last year, apparently either over a row over CCTV or it wasn't running a profit and is being converted into a Co-Operative store..
It's had all the downstairs windows and all but a few doors bricked up, had an extension built for a freezer section. It actually never had a basement.
We have a sovernier of the pub - the signs...
Despite rarely going there, it'll be missed.
The Wych Way Inn (my local) closed down last year, apparently either over a row over CCTV or it wasn't running a profit and is being converted into a Co-Operative store..
It's had all the downstairs windows and all but a few doors bricked up, had an extension built for a freezer section. It actually never had a basement.
We have a sovernier of the pub - the signs...
Despite rarely going there, it'll be missed.
Post edited by zeropolis79 on
Comments
the smoking ban didn't help
happy hour probably attracts the local scum (e.g. my dole-ite neighbours)
and the price of land is another factor
well that and chains of pubs.
My best mate owns a tied pub.
If he was a freehouse, he could buy an 11 gallon keg of lager from Booker's cash 'n' carry for ?66 + VAT ... but as he's tied, he has to buy it from the brewery for ?150
Coupled with ever increasing rents, the price of beer just keeps rising.
We're at ?3.15 for a pint of lager at the moment - it was ?2.60 just over a year ago.
still doing a roaring trade.
and we have plenty of pubs in my town.
but its sad when they close as they are a great pace to meet,chill out and hang out with friends.
A few have gone in Wolverhampton but I don't go there now as you just don't feel safe.
Can't be bothered with pubs anymore with the beer being so bloody expensive. They wanna know why more people are leaving the pubs and drinking at home - there's a major, major factor.
Maybe someone will buy it up and re-open it one day.
In the town i used to live one of the local pubs was forced to shut due to the increasing violence every friday/saturday night. I was in a few times and every time i was there a fight broke out. It was a dump anyway. It's been converted to a hotel now.
TV has improved over the years too.
never saw the point of sitting in a pub myself.
Call yourself a man?! Take your handbag and get out of here!
Of course it wasn't all down to Sky why he sold up, but he said it was a big factor. Apparently ?600 a month is quite low for a town centre pub nowadays. Robbing basts.
When I lived there the 'top road' and 'bottom road' (in Swinton) were always packed to the rafters with people in their 20s 30s.
I asked a mate what happened he said all the young ones now went into Manchester and gangs had chased off the rest..leaving just the old duffers holding their 1/2 pint of mild.
Sad and depressing.
The other popular pub within walking distance is also a real ale pub (the landlord actually owns the brewery too) and runs events during the summer, they usually put a stage on the beach and have a band. It's usually packed, typical age range 20s, 30s, 40s and a few older. They also have a restaurant, which helps.
The important thing for a pub is:
1. to have enough people living within easy walking distance. (The old adage: stand on the roof and count the chimneys to find out how successful you'll be).
2. to keep the beer properly (the only point in going to a pub is to drink proper beer, I can buy the same lager at a supermarket, but I can't get a proper hand pulled pint of bitter there).
The smoking ban has I think helped - more people go to the pub now, I must admit I go more often now that I don't leave stinking of stale cigarettes.
....the social aspect was always the main reason I went...and still is I suppose.
Yup same here, and a few games of pool, I kinda miss pubs, there's no bars even close to a good pub round here :(
My own local back in Deptford is now a Noodle Bar.
Not quite right there. It's not the breweries, but the brewerery campanys that are to blame. the goverment tried to stop this monopoly of pubs etc by bringing out a piece of legistation saying that no brewery can own any more than I think, half a dozen pubs, but it failed to mention the brewery companys like Enterprise Inns and Punch Taverns. They are the ones charging pubs silly money for beer.
My local is owned by Enterprise Inns and the a pint of guinness in there is ?3.14 now. The landoord decided to stop selling regular Stella because that will have had to go up to over ?3.40 and he's changed it to Stella 4 as that's a little bit cheaper.
in my area at least, it's the night clubs that are the worst for unsocial drinking as they sell 2 bottles for ?1.50 etc and as has been mentioned, this brings out the chavvy idiots etc...
not around ehre it hasn't. we have seen loads of pubs closing and several night clubs have given up and every one has blamed the smoking ban (a few have complained about the brewery companys too).
All the smoking ban did in my pub was move the smokers out into a small yard out the back and brought in a few people who refused point blank to come in before becasue of the smoke, but will now happoly claim the place to be "our local".
The band should have been volantary. I know of one or two places that would have brought the ban in, but most will have kept a smoking area at least.
As a non-smoker, it's nice to be able to sit and have a beer in a smoke free atmosphere, but also, i'll freely admit that if I didn't like the smoke in a pub, I wouldn't go in in the first place as smoking is part and parcel of the pub expeerience.
I'm a non-smoker too and try to avoid heavy smoking areas..
- IONIAN-GAMES.com -
My local, a stones throw from town if you fancy it, but walking distance from home, shut down around Easter.
No - no Christmas lights down this way
This is the current state of our local:
As taken from the bedroom window.. The extension on the back was added for the Co-Op. We have both signs which would have been seen on the walls seen here.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
p.s I do remember seeing that pub when I dropped the games round
Of course, the same friend wanted to turn it into a brothel...
A voluntary ban wouldn't work. The ban either has to be total or not at all. The trouble is as Beanz said, usually the pub is social and you go with friends. Usually there's one person in the group who smokes. If some pubs had a ban and others not, no one would go to the pubs with the smoking ban because they would have to leave their smoking friend behind.
The same would happen with the smoking area: you'd end up with a packed smoking area (on account of each group having at least one smoker) and an empty non-smoking area, meaning the pub would have a lot less trade because it just couldn't fit the people in.
I think people blaming the smoking ban are really just trying to blame something else rather than perhaps the company or bad management - in reality those pubs and clubs were going to end up closing anyway. The smoking ban did not decrease the popularity of pubs here at all. There's good evidence from Ireland that pubs there became more popular after the ban.
What would be wrong with the smoker going to the non-smoking pub and not having a smoke in there? Or doing what they do now and standing outside whilst they have a toot.
Similarly, if there was a smoking area in the pub, then what would stop the smoker in the group just nipping in there for a quick tab? I mean most of us didn't really give a rats arse when smoking wasn't banned...so we could still nip in to the smokers bit whilst the smoker had a ciggy.
Pub crawls always meant the smokers had a quick fag in between establishments...
I'm not a smoker, but I feel the ban has removed something that shouldn't have been removed and that is "choice". "Choice" from a punters point of view, "choice" from the business point of view...I still view it as an infringement of civil liberties, a very minor one, but one non-the-less.
What the hell happened to the good old blighty I used to know when you settled your differences by smashing a glass on someones head.
By that, I don't mean a pub that's near to where I live, or one that I'd go to regularly with pals, but one that I'd happily go in on my own any time & be able to sit there, drink, chat to the landlord/bar staff, drinking beer out of my own special mug/tankard/glass that they keep behind the bar, getting free snacks etc.
Because of that I've never been too sentimental about pubs closing down (that and the fact that there are always loads of pubs around to choose from).
Does anyone here have a 'Cheers-style' local?
My local can be pretty close at times. It doesnt look the same obviously, but it's full of characters. Everyone knows everyone who goes in and most people have usual spots etc. It's not far from the sea front, so we get alot of visitors in, but in general, it's very much a locals pub! It even keeps a daily diary of goings on and who said what etc. That can make interesting reading!
Did anyone goto the Cheers Bar in London? I never did, but I hear it was set up to look just like the bar in the program!
- IONIAN-GAMES.com -
Theres the problem there ! Its a shame when a 'favourite' pub closes down but then locals/regulars say 'well i didnt go....' !
When i lived down south we kept going to our local to 'try' to keep it open but in the end it just went really quiet, all the others deserted it and it was just the regulars.
Must admit i love the smoking ban, love going into pubs and not stinking of smoke. My home town down south theres tons of pubs (used to be in the guiness book of records for most pubs within a square mile or so), only one has closed down. The rest are the usual mixture, eg theres one for the oldies, one for the chavvy kids and then 'normal' ones where they have a 21 year old limit to keep out some young idiots.
Yeah its cheaper to drink at home but i still like going down the local for them to get some of my business.
Its like when people say 'my local butchers/fruit n veg...' shop has closed, such a shame ! (So did you buy from there ? 'Oh no its too dear, i go to tescos...' !)
Local businesses are dearer but i still go to them a fair bit to 'help them', handy as theyre closer, granted tescos is much cheaper but i would rather mr local businessman has my money than the huge tesco behemoth.