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View Full Version : PONSONBY ARMS in Llangollen????????????????



Britmick
17-12-2011, 17:26
Does anyone have any info on why this great little pub keeps changing hands so often?

lt looks like a great place with (alledgedly) 4 letting rooms & a 'biker following as well
as it's in a very touristy location.

Mick

aleandhearty
17-12-2011, 20:36
Does anyone have any info on why this great little pub keeps changing hands so often?

lt looks like a great place with (alledgedly) 4 letting rooms & a 'biker following as well
as it's in a very touristy location.

Mick

As soon as I read Alan Hurdle's review, on the main site, I muttered pubco. As it turns out, The Ponsonby Arms is a Scottish & Newcastle pub, in turn owned by Heineken. They seem to be getting quite a reputation for restrictive practice, the flavour of which you can get on Tandleman's blog:

http://tandlemanbeerblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/point-of-view.html

Of course there may be other contributory factors, but I'd bet my mortgage it's part of the problem.

rpadam
17-12-2011, 20:53
Does anyone have any info on why this great little pub keeps changing hands so often?

lt looks like a great place with (alledgedly) 4 letting rooms & a 'biker following as well
as it's in a very touristy location.

Mick
It's up again for somebody else to give it a go...

http://www.snpubs.co.uk/pub/50612-ponsonby-arms-in-denbighshire-north-wales

Oggwyn Trench
17-12-2011, 22:12
Its the wrong side of the bridge , or more accuratley the wrong way over the wrong side of the bridge , noboby goes that way , only bored van drivers wasting time:whistle:

Britmick
18-12-2011, 17:05
So ur saying it's maybe the 'owners' who r turning the screws abit too much on the landlord of the pub?
Why don't they see that tenants r leaving a bit too often for it to be just a delinquent landlord, & maybe that
the guy can't even make ends meet to pay his own bills!?!?
Do these companies ever just sell apub to get rid of it, becasue as with this pub, they have got to be losing money,
especially when it's left empty when the tenant packs his bags & leaves.....OR, are they making money just by getting the
"fixtures & fittings deposit" & keeping it?????

AlanH
18-12-2011, 20:12
The Ponsonby has had several different problems and gone through a few changes. The last but one landlord did not seem to bothered about opening or serving people. On one busy bank holiday he got fed up with the crowds and decided to close. Not the ideal way to win customers!!
With the last landlord, I had better hopes for the place. It was open all day, had a board outside offering food all day and was repainted a more striking colour outside. The beer was not so good with the cask beer hardly ever on, especially in the week, until it stopped completely. As trade dwindled he left.
The present landlord has put the Real Ale back on, but as he has arrived at the end of the tourist season into a pub that has been closed for a while and (as Oggwyn Trench pointed out) is at the edge of the town, custom is hard to build up. On a couple of weekday evenings I had been the only customer until two old ladies came in for a pot of tea to break their journey from Barmouth to Crewe!
As it is the first pub most people see as they enter the town, I told the landlord he will have think of something to attract their attention to make them come back. I hope he finds it!

Oggwyn Trench
18-12-2011, 22:18
To clarify my point (note to self , dont post when you have been in the pub all day:D) the main bulk of pubs and hotels are south of the bridge , any tourists crossing the bridge north usually turn left and head for the showground or up further on to the Horseshoe pass , very few turn right unless on there way home , Llangollen has got a lot of pubs for the size of the town so maybe its not that suprising that one or two are struggling .

Note to Alan H , the pub by the traffic lights , just up from the Bull appears to have reopened (was it the Smithfield) it has a large sign BAR but nothing else to identify it , any idea ?

AlanH
19-12-2011, 08:49
I have been watching progress of "The Smithfield". The large 'Bar' sign appeared a few weeks ago but progress has been slow. The nature of the sign with reversed 'B' and circled 'A' suggests to me, a young persons late night venue with not much chance of decent beer but I hope I am wrong.:pray:

Britmick
19-12-2011, 16:23
Alan, the 'present' landlord must be leaving, as the pub in question is 'up-for-grabs' again!
l am seriously thinking about applying for it, but what l need to find out is if it's a viable concern?
& obviously Winter is not going to balance the books, but anyone with their head screwed on
should be able to attract tourists (wrong side or not!) on such a busy area by the trainstation,
across from the bridge, & just below the canal!...........................shouldn't they?

Oggwyn Trench
19-12-2011, 18:21
Be very carefull , Pubcos are complete Bast**ds , they will charge you around 50% more for your beer(if your lucky , it may be more:eek:) than a freehouse pays , then if you work hard and increase trade they will then happily double your rent :moremad: Read the small print carefully , they will charge you for everything , if its got a kitchen they may even charge a seperate rent on it

Oggwyn Trench
19-12-2011, 18:24
I have been watching progress of "The Smithfield". The large 'Bar' sign appeared a few weeks ago but progress has been slow. The nature of the sign with reversed 'B' and circled 'A' suggests to me, a young persons late night venue with not much chance of decent beer but I hope I am wrong.:pray:

Cheers i drive past most weeks on my way back from Ruthin and it was starting to bug me

AlanH
19-12-2011, 21:05
I am sure the pub could be viable with the right effort and attractions. It needs some attraction to get people to pass (or leave) the improved Bridge End which is a very popular due to its visible position at the end of the bridge (exactly what it says on the tin!!) even though it is on the wrong side of the water.
Ironically, the last time I spoke to the landlord was on a Saturday afternoon, drinking in the Bridge End whilst his pub was closed (own goal?). A good way to turn a pub around is like they have done at the "other" Bridge End at Ruabon (a thread you have probably read on site) which changed from a shut down loss maker to semi finalist for National Pub of the Year by giving the punters what they want. Whether that is six Real Ales, Gastro food or topless barmaids I am sure it can be done. Dealing with Pubcos :evilgrin:or Heiniken :evilgrin:, well that is another problem!!!

Britmick
20-12-2011, 17:27
Thanks Oggwyn (?)
Is there a thread or site or whatever to help me find a viable pub somewhere in Northern England/Wales to run as a
tenant without getting ripped off by companies like Pubco??

Any help in leiu of free drinks at my future establishment!

Mick the "I wish I could drink as much as I used to!"

ROBCamra
20-12-2011, 18:54
Mick, you could always give this one a look. The Albion Inn (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/19882/)

Up until 4 years ago it was in the GBG and had been for 9 consecutive years.

Then the landlord, Kevin & his wife Val split up and the pub was sold to Punch.

There's a Bistro attached with about 20 seats which also used to be very good. We dined there many times.

It's had a couple fo poor landlords since then who couldn't keep decent beer, so most of the regulars left.

Punch have been touting it around for a couple of months now. It's got loads of potential for the right person. :cheers:

Ironically Kevin & Val are now back together again and are running a Timothy Taylors tied house.

Oggwyn Trench
20-12-2011, 19:05
Couple of links ,

Bit of advice http://www.startups.co.uk/pub_1.html

Pubs for mostly freehold http://www.fleurets.com/pubs/pubs-for-sale.asp

Lot of leasehold http://www.barzone.co.uk/jobtype-38.html?gclid=CNGlt_qpka0CFcMMtAodp3YHmA its a bit of a trawl but there are some very good pubs available

If you stick "running a pub " in Google most of the big Pubcos sites come up , all have lists of pubs available

Britmick
22-12-2011, 04:03
Thanks guys, l'll pursue my quest again in the New Year, but as l found the pub in the link below only yesterday,
l now have a piece of England abroad to while away those long Winter nights!

If you go to the trouble of reading the history of the INN, you'll find it interesting, especially as it's actually 100yrs old
(which is old for America!_) the Guiness is $3 a pint during happy hour (3-6pm) which is about a quid!!!
All other GB beers are unfortunately in bottles (Speckled Hen/Boddies/Newcy broon/Fullers IPA/etc) but there is a good brewery that's opened up recently
that does a very nice range of draught beers, including of all things a nut-brown-ale!!!!!!!!!!!!

www.oldenglishinnhollister.com/ www.mothersbrewing.com

THEMANAGER
22-01-2012, 12:59
Hi Mick.Going to have a look at the Ponsonby Arms in a view to manage it,from someone who lives outside the area it looks like a very good investment with the right people running it with experience and a lot of fresh ideas and drive.

mark

AlanH
09-04-2012, 00:10
Latest news from Llangollen as reported on Chester & S Clwyd Camra forum

http://www.ponsonbyarms.com/

Certainly sounds good. I just :love: the word "emporium" when talking about Real Ale.
I hope it lives up to it's promise. Perhaps the owners have been inspired by the Bridge End at Ruabon (just 6 miles away) being the 1st Welsh winners of Camra National pub of the year.

AlanH
23-07-2012, 02:25
Latest news from Llangollen as reported on Chester & S Clwyd Camra forum

http://www.ponsonbyarms.com/

Certainly sounds good. I just :love: the word "emporium" when talking about Real Ale.
I hope it lives up to it's promise. Perhaps the owners have been inspired by the Bridge End at Ruabon (just 6 miles away) being the 1st Welsh winners of Camra National pub of the year.

The new owners of the Ponsonby Arms get the keys this week ending this pubs period of uncertainty. The cask ale will be flowing very soon.
As they also own, and run, The Sun Inn from the same town, serving six changing cask beers, we know what to expect!:notworthy: :cheers:

Bucking Fastard
25-07-2012, 09:05
The new owners of the Ponsonby Arms get the keys this week ending this pubs period of uncertainty. The cask ale will be flowing very soon.
As they also own, and run, The Sun Inn from the same town, serving six changing cask beers, we know what to expect!:notworthy: :cheers:

This all looks very good news.I was thinking of boating up to Llangollen next year,it's been a long time since I have been over Pontcysyllte,so good to hear there will be some decent ale at the end of the journey.

AlanH
01-09-2012, 09:38
Now reopened with 6 Real Ales (served in lined glasses) with more to come!