My local pub, the 'Railway' in Hinckley, was a Marston's house run under that brewery's egregious 'Retail Agreement'. Late last year it was put up for sale and has been bought by a small Leicestershire brewery, 'Steamin' Billy'; all the initial signs were good in that the new owners appeared to promise new life for the pub with a revised selection of beers and a bit of refurbishment. It was a definite case of 'Goodbye Marston's and good riddance' !
Oh dear, how a few weeks can cause one to rethink. Under Marston's, the running of the pub was hardly good, but they usually had well kept beer and were open every day, all day. Following the arrival of 'Steamin Billy', the availability of beer and other beverages has been problematic, the cellar was seriously flooded for more than a fortnight and opening hours were cut drastically. Now the pub has been closed, well ahead of the expected date for a refurbishment to be carried out and with no real notice or explanation being given.
Yes, I know that many pubs, now including most in Hinckley, amend their opening hours to match the times when most of their customers turn up, but what about the customers who want a drink at quieter times ? What is the point of running a business that's closed more than it's open ? Of course, now that it's closed and likely to stay that way for 2 or 3 months, the 'Railway's' regular customers will have to look elsewhere at all times. Those customers who want an early drink will be pushed into the arms of the town's 'Wetherspoon' outlet and the remaining 2 or 3 pubs that open all day, all of which are operated by Marston's; the rest will find themselves wandering the streets in search of a new 'local'.
I don't bemoan the fact that Marston's disposed of the 'Railway' but I am deeply disappointed that 'Steamin' Billy' appears to have no interest in offering the existing customers any sort of real service. It looks increasingly as though their purchase of the 'Railway' will result in a good old fashioned pub being turned into a haven for kids, with the current locals being driven elsewhere. Worst of all is that their website provides no contact details for the company, just a load of tosh about how good they are, loyalty and merchandising - typical of organisations that don't want to hear from their customers.
Whatever you do, don't let them get their hands on your local !
Pity you could not wait for the refurb to be finished. The railway under marstons was the same as their other pubs, no investment, no customers.
ReplyDeleteThe new railway sells good beer, well kept and is usually really busy. Food is good too.
Still if you want to be a saddo, sitting on your own drinking at three in the afternoon, there is still a choice of marstons pubs. The choice is yours.
Well, 'Anonymous', you'll find that I did revisit and posted again in April 2014 when I noted the activity, decent beer and good food. Perhaps you should investigate a bit more before being rather stupidly insulting.
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