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04-02-2018, 08:07
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“I think we’ve seen the worst of the pub closures,” said the Pollyannas. “Things seem to have stabilised now.” But how wrong could they be?
On top of Winters and the Queens in Cheadle, which I have already reported (http://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/another-couple-down.html), January saw three more pub closures in Stockport – the Victoria in Offerton (https://whatpub.com/pubs/MAS/4500/victoria-offerton) (pictured), the Florist on Shaw Heath (https://whatpub.com/pubs/MAS/4199/florist-stockport) and the Jolly Sailor in Davenport (https://whatpub.com/pubs/MAS/4281/jolly-sailor-davenport). It’s believed there may be a chance the Victoria may reopen, but the others are all, I would guess, gone for good.
It’s usually the case with pub closures that you think “well, I’m not entirely surprised there”, and indeed it must be said that the Florist had had the “smell of death” around it for quite a while. But the fact that once-thriving pubs have closed underlines just how much the overall level of custom has declined, and how on a knife-edge much of the pub trade is today. And, as I said last year, drinking in many of the pubs that remain too often feels like sitting in a morgue (http://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/a-sobering-contrast.html).
It seems that nowadays any pub is fair game, unless it has become a destination food house or is located in a town centre or suburban hub. This is especially true if they occupy a site that is potentially lucrative for redevelopment, as the Jolly Sailor does. The traditional multi-purpose pub, with a mixture of local and outside trade, that once was a mainstay of the pub scene, has become an endangered species. And the idea that being the only pub for half a mile around in a residential area guarantees survival is even less true than it ever was.
But, never mind, no doubt a new micropub has opened up not too far away, where you can perch on an uncomfortable stool and drink a pint of cask ale from a brewery you’ve never heard of. So long as it’s not on a Monday or Tuesday, and not before 4 pm. So things aren’t too bad, then.


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