Post by alicechallice on Dec 22, 2022 14:09:32 GMT
Have copied the below from FB. This is such a shame, the Colonnade bar is utterly delightful, loads of signed photos of actors who have played the Theatre Royal over the years. It’s friendly, it’s cosy, it’s the perfect pre or post theatre watering hole…
WE'RE CLOSING. FOREVER.
PLEASE SHARE THIS if you care at all about hospitality, pubs or independent businesses?!
Hey world! So the powers-that-be told us not to tell you this yet, but our team told me we should. So we are:
ATG (Theatre Royal Brighton and their parent company, for the uninitiated) have decided to turf us out and close our pub in June 2023. Despite us being an entirely viable, successful business, more than willing to pay the market rate for our premises.
Apparently they need the room to make their foyer bigger / less like a big cold empty room with a fridge in the corner.
Everything hereafter represents the thoughts of Lyndon and the team and absolutely may not reflect Golden Lion Group's view on the situation, (we very deliberately didn't ask).
The Colonnade Bar will be no more.
They apparently need us to close so they can do a piss poor job of serving more people at their horrendously slow, poorly stocked and overpriced bars.
So the pub has gotta go:
That pub that's lasted more than a century until now.
That gorgeous little relic of a bygone era. The one that everyone tells us is precious, and they should never change.
That pub that's listed in every Brighton tourist guide as a point of cultural and historical significance.
That pub that's listed by CAMRA as having an "historic interior of regional importance".
That beautiful little oasis from the hustle and bustle, slap bang in the city centre.
That strangely community driven city centre boozer where if you're reading this, we probably know your name and you probably know ours.
That spectacular GRADE II LISTED f***ING PUB.
That totally VIABLE and PROFITABLE business that many of us call home, and some have for nearly a decade.
It's going. Gone. Finito. Shuttered. Forever.
Yepp. The Ambassador Group have decided we're better purposed as some dogsh*t front of house space. The same people that currently open that front of house space for 5 hours on Thursday, and little more.
The same people we at The Colonnade watched fall over themselves for 6 years trying to run a coffee shop.
(psssst ATG: your staff like us more than they like you; We both know what a mess that was 😂)
Again, ATG: we know your staff like us more than they like you because for 9 years we've offered them a better discount than you do!
Most importantly, we've offered a friendly SUPPORTIVE face and a shoulder to cry on when ATG's own in house management team have been horrendously ineffective, and dare we say negligent. We'd LOVE for them follow up on that one in particular, we really would.
Apparently that's what our pub and our community are worth: A few quid to a few theatre goers, a few times a week. Wow.
We'd love for you to take a moment to tell them how you feel. Honestly they haven't listened to us in the past two years, I don't suppose they'll listen to you either, but your effort would be appreciated!
Down the line we will be knocking up a petition and some colourfully worded PR stuff. It'll be a fun time, even if it's not a very productive one: we don't plan to go quietly!
Until then, feel free to drop them an email: they might even read it (we doubt it)!
help.atgtickets.com/hc/en-gb/requests/new?ticket_form_id=4411890379922
We love you, we'll miss you. But imagine the party...
Lyndon, Olivia, Nic, Kez, Liza, Sally, Alice, Polly and Meg. xx
WE'RE CLOSING. FOREVER.
PLEASE SHARE THIS if you care at all about hospitality, pubs or independent businesses?!
Hey world! So the powers-that-be told us not to tell you this yet, but our team told me we should. So we are:
ATG (Theatre Royal Brighton and their parent company, for the uninitiated) have decided to turf us out and close our pub in June 2023. Despite us being an entirely viable, successful business, more than willing to pay the market rate for our premises.
Apparently they need the room to make their foyer bigger / less like a big cold empty room with a fridge in the corner.
Everything hereafter represents the thoughts of Lyndon and the team and absolutely may not reflect Golden Lion Group's view on the situation, (we very deliberately didn't ask).
The Colonnade Bar will be no more.
They apparently need us to close so they can do a piss poor job of serving more people at their horrendously slow, poorly stocked and overpriced bars.
So the pub has gotta go:
That pub that's lasted more than a century until now.
That gorgeous little relic of a bygone era. The one that everyone tells us is precious, and they should never change.
That pub that's listed in every Brighton tourist guide as a point of cultural and historical significance.
That pub that's listed by CAMRA as having an "historic interior of regional importance".
That beautiful little oasis from the hustle and bustle, slap bang in the city centre.
That strangely community driven city centre boozer where if you're reading this, we probably know your name and you probably know ours.
That spectacular GRADE II LISTED f***ING PUB.
That totally VIABLE and PROFITABLE business that many of us call home, and some have for nearly a decade.
It's going. Gone. Finito. Shuttered. Forever.
Yepp. The Ambassador Group have decided we're better purposed as some dogsh*t front of house space. The same people that currently open that front of house space for 5 hours on Thursday, and little more.
The same people we at The Colonnade watched fall over themselves for 6 years trying to run a coffee shop.
(psssst ATG: your staff like us more than they like you; We both know what a mess that was 😂)
Again, ATG: we know your staff like us more than they like you because for 9 years we've offered them a better discount than you do!
Most importantly, we've offered a friendly SUPPORTIVE face and a shoulder to cry on when ATG's own in house management team have been horrendously ineffective, and dare we say negligent. We'd LOVE for them follow up on that one in particular, we really would.
Apparently that's what our pub and our community are worth: A few quid to a few theatre goers, a few times a week. Wow.
We'd love for you to take a moment to tell them how you feel. Honestly they haven't listened to us in the past two years, I don't suppose they'll listen to you either, but your effort would be appreciated!
Down the line we will be knocking up a petition and some colourfully worded PR stuff. It'll be a fun time, even if it's not a very productive one: we don't plan to go quietly!
Until then, feel free to drop them an email: they might even read it (we doubt it)!
help.atgtickets.com/hc/en-gb/requests/new?ticket_form_id=4411890379922
We love you, we'll miss you. But imagine the party...
Lyndon, Olivia, Nic, Kez, Liza, Sally, Alice, Polly and Meg. xx
