Last orders for three city hospitality venues

12 hours ago

Alec Blackmanin Coventry

The Town Wall tavern will close on 26 July, The Lion's Inn has already shut while the Aardvark shuts its doors for the final time on 20 July

Google The Town Wall Tavern is a White building with black woodwork. The name of the pub is on a large plaque over the main entrance. The Lion's Inn is a a large building with a car park in front of it. It's painted in a light grey-green colour. The Aardvark is a brick-built pub with a black and white mock Tudor effect frontage. — The Town Wall tavern will close on 26 July, The Lion's Inn has already shut while the Aardvark shuts its doors for the final time on 20 July

Three hospitality venues in Coventry have closed or are to close by the end of July, with the city's branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) suggesting the news comes as no surprise.

The Aardvark, on the Butts, announced on social media that it would close its doors for the last time on 20 July.

The Town Wall Tavern, on Bond Street in Coventry city centre, confirmed it would close on 26 July, while The Lion's Inn, a pub-turned-Indian restaurant in Coundon, said it had shut after eight years.

In a statement on its Facebook page, Town Wall Tavern said "We have given everything we could to keep the pub going, but sadly we can no longer continue under our agreement with [owners] Stonegate."

Graham Paine from Camra Coventry said increased costs and fewer people visiting pubs were not just issues in the city

Reuters/ Clodagh Kilcoyne A pint of Guinness 0.0 being poured. — Graham Paine from Camra Coventry said increased costs and fewer people visiting pubs were not just issues in the city

Graham Paine from the Coventry and District branch of Camra, said he was not surprised about the closures.

"When you're tied to a pubco or a brewery, you have to buy your beer from them and you'll pay a bigger price than a free house will. I know nationally Camra has issues with Stonegate and we're told by licensees that the firm has a history of promising a huge amount and failing to deliver."

Stonegate is one of the largest pub companies in the UK, with more than 3,000 venues across the country.

In addition to owning the Aardvark and the Town Wall Tavern, it also owns the Philip Larkin and the Coventry Cross, both on The Burges in Coventry city centre.

In a statement to the BBC, a spokesperson for Stonegate said: "The Aardvark and Town Wall Tavern will be closed for a short period while we prepare the pubs to reopen under new management.

"We look forward to reopening the doors to both pubs and welcoming guests back very soon."

The company also pointed to recent comments by CEO David McDowall, who said: "Isolated case studies do not represent the success of our broader estate, the reality is that we are investing record amounts in our properties, tenant applications are at record highs, and publican tenures are at record lengths."

Paine said the wider issues for the city's hospitality trade were mirrored elsewhere across the country.

"Things like the increase in employers' National Insurance brought in by this government hit small employers. They also raised the rate of duty of beer and steadfastly refused to cut the VAT in pubs, which means the beer is a lot more expensive than when you buy it in the supermarket."

He also said younger people were less likely to go to a pub, people have less money in their pockets meaning if they do go for a night out, they spend less time in the pub than they used to.

"I think you've got to put all of those in the mix, not just for Coventry, but it's our point of view in Camra, a trend that we are seeing across the whole of the United Kingdom."

A statement on the website of the Lion's Inn, a former pub that was turned into an Indian restaurant, read: "Our Lion's Inn journey has come to an end. Thank you for your continuous support over the last 8 years."

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