Our CAMRA Branch has a trip to North Yorkshire on Saturday and Sunday. We were due to visit the Punch Bowl Inn, owned by the Morrissey/Fox team and featured on Channel 4, but our Dear Leader tells me it is closed. Somehow I have missed this, but it seems the dynamic duo have handed the keys back in. First the on site brewery went and then the pub. There is some interesting stuff on it in The Publican, but it seems all was not sweetness and light with the locals who felt excluded.
Seems too MF are now looking for other free houses in the Yorkshire area. Maybe they'll have learned enough lessons to make it work next time!
It would, I guess, depend on whether Ch4 want another series out of them.
ReplyDeleteTaking a 350 year old boozer and turning it into a restaurant was never going to work. Throw in pretty shit mass produced beer in Tescos with pissweak branding and you dont need to be a genius to work out what the eventual outcome was going to be.
ReplyDeleteThat seems a very harsh judgement, I have to say. Did you ever visit the pub? The pub was struggling: the locals simply weren't using it, hence it was up for sale. Anyone taking on such a venture would have to shake things up.
ReplyDeleteAs it was, the pub was nicely refurbished and a quality food operation was put in place. Just what you'd expect from a country pub, really. Certainly numbers increased. As for the beer, you may not like it (I do) but they stocked guest beers and had a good wine/spirit selection. I rather think it was Mr Morrissey's complicated finances that were the problem, rather than the pub itself.
It's a shame whatever happened, but even in a posh pub, you need to keep the locals happy - and they have a bob or two up there so pissing them off was never a good move.
ReplyDeleteThere appears to be a number of suggestions that the locals had their nose put out. All rumour and hearsay, but turning the local into a gastropub, upping the prices, and excluding the locals from the opening party (all that was on the telly program) wasn't a great start.
ReplyDeleteI'm never happy to see a business go down the pan and people losing their jobs, but neither of the owners have really lost their livelihood, the pub may be better run if it reopens and you can understand the schadenfraude in some opinion after Morrisey called people whose pubs fail as thick.
£2.99 value meals, £1.50 a pint ale. Tis the future. Not £3 beer and slow cooked tosh in jus at £15 a pop.
Don't listen to Tim.He loves the sound of his own voice despite talking absolute shit all the time.He loves himself that much that if his dick wasn't so small he would try to fuck himself with it.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they actually did much wrong with the pub. Ok, some of the locals had their noses put out of joint but they weren't using the pub enough-hence the rapid change of licensees. I know it's all tongue in cheek, CL, but people don't drive out to country pubs for Wetherspoons grub. Price wise, they were very reasonable with food and drink both cheaper than many in Manchester.
ReplyDeleteLike Penny, I also think over-stretched finances were the main problem with the Punch Bowl. I can't remember now how much the pub needed to take each week, just to break even, but I think it was in the region of £15k! Rather a tall order for a village pub.
ReplyDeleteThanks Barry - Opps I mean Gazza. Constructive as always. Why publish under the pseudonym? I have checked my server logs and you guys seem to always visit from the same IP address.
ReplyDeleteTimmy I knew you were thick but paranoid as well? You obviously know as much about computers as you do beer as there is an obvious flaw in your supposed reasoning.For the record I have never even met Gazza although I have of course seen him around over the years.
ReplyDeleteWe both know you don't want constructive criticism as your posting history proves.Anyone who dares to try and contradict you is dismissed as a twat.Including the author of this blog btw.And yet you still have the cheek to post your childish ramblings here.The best thing you can do is stay inside your little house on the land stolen from the aborigines,pull out your internet connection and shut the fuck up.
Me a twat? Surely not?
ReplyDeleteTim is just being Tim. That's what he is and what he does. No point of being wound up by it.
Hey Barry, have a look at what you just wrote in your last comment before you go accusing me of childish ramblings. Hmmm, glass houses and stones??
ReplyDeleteBTW - My grandmother is aboriginal. What are you insinuating?
I thought biffo was bad but little Timmy takes the cookie for egomania.The point Timothy is that you are an Antipodean gobshite who everyone is sick of.From what I’ve read of your career it amounts to farting about in Blighty while pissing off as many people as possible.Then you decamped home before anyone gave you a well deserved hiding. That’s what I’ve read anyway.Now you’re at it again and enough is enough.Obviously you’re not worried about showing yourself up but for everyone’s else’s sake,please stop.Try doing something useful for once like putting the barrel of a sawn off shotgun in your mouth.
ReplyDeleteHmm Captain Jack, or is it Barry, or is it Anon or Gazza???
ReplyDeleteHmm, and I thought whinging Pom was a stereotype.
Sorry these goons are hijacking your blog Pete.
Timmy I apologise for thinking you were arrogant and stupide.You are obviously mentally ill.That is the only explination for your bizarre behaviour.The only goon here is you.You come here and make one of your usual nonsense comments and then when people dare to disagree,you throw a hissy fit.Putting aside the nerve you've got in posting on here in the first place,your paranoia and childishness has reached new heights.Try to think why you have developed the reputation you have.But of course you won't as we are all either twats and or Gazza and Tandleman is the tooth fairy
ReplyDelete@Barry, I don't know WTF you are talking about. Really are you mental?
ReplyDeleteTimmy please get help before you harm yourself or others.They may not be able to help you with your physical problems but mental health is a serious issue.Call 0871 550 5750 to receive the help you need.
ReplyDeleteHey Barry, why did you out your boyfriend on a blog. Not that there is anything wrong with being gay. You shirt lifting pillow bitting twat
ReplyDeleteOK Guys - that's enough. Any more insulting comments will be deleted.
ReplyDelete