Owens bar closed – Victoria closed
Posh bar Owens has closed after months of uncertainty.
The bar came to life after local hairdresser Tony Owens became so rich cutting hair he didn’t know what to do with himself. It was a big hit at first, being the only posh place to drink in Southport, but many others followed in its wake.
A disastrous and greedy expansion and full-on restaurant charging crazy prices for mediocre food proved his undoing. Other posh bars sprang up and Owens become unfashionable.
Meanwhile, The Victoria on the Prom looks closed once again. Windy and Tomato were in charge, so it could reopen soon.
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I noticed a ‘for sale’ sign on the Shakespeare a couple of weeks ago, and it was still there yesterday. The pub was open for business, though.
Rednev - May 22, 2009 at 5:23 pm
As far as I’m aware the manager has it as a tenancy at will, if you are familiar with those? Basically he’s got it at a peppercorn rent to run until its sold.. i think. If im wrong, I apologise, but im fairly sure he doesnt have a long term lease.
Anyone who has a pub at the moment can easily get a tenancy at will as the brewery know the people, know they can do the job and it suits them to have a pub trading rather than shut, for obvious reasons.
town green - May 23, 2009 at 12:50 am
Town Green: it sounds as though you know more than I do and you may well be right, but even so it doesn’t look good for a pub to have a ‘for sale’ sign outside ~ it suggests impermanence and I think most drinkers like consistency in their local.
Rednev - May 25, 2009 at 2:57 pm
goodbyeeeeee
Aggers - May 27, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Red, we enquired after a tenancy at will at the Shake with Punch after Jez & Vicky left, and the pub had been closed for some months. Punch told us it had been sold, presumeably to the company selling it on now. These short term tenancies suit everyone apart from the drinkers – the brewery or landlord prefer their pub to be trading, and the tenant doesn’t need to put any deposit down or sign up for a long term lease, they can hand back the keys at any time. A landlady in Ormskirk has about 3/4 local boozers on these terms – of course the more beer etc you order the bigger discounts available so it can often be a profitable way to trade.
town green - May 29, 2009 at 9:56 pm
is it the recession that is causing these closure? is the ‘for sale’ sign on the Shakespeare still there
gentlegiant - July 11, 2009 at 2:42 pm