A landlord who’s been forced to close his pub four days a week says people need to decide: ‘Do you still want your local?’
James Wright, of the Dawnay Arms, Shipton by Beningbrough, near York, says he can only afford to open for three days a week.
The pub had already reduced trading to five days a week. But rising costs and a big slow down in trade has meant James has had to cut back further.
The only pub in the village, the Dawnay Arms dates from 1730. But now it only opens on Wednesday from 4pm-11.30pm, Friday 12pm-11.30pm and Sunday, 12pm-10pm.
James told YorkMix: “The question is, does the village, does the community, and in England in general, does it still want pubs?
“Because at the moment, it feels like the local village pubs are suffering.”
He said: “If you can spare any time, please use your local pub. I’m not sure how long I’ve got here, but I’ll do my best to get to Christmas.
“Use your local pub, if it goes, you’ll regret it.”
For James, hospitality is in his blood. “My parents ran pubs in and around York and Selby. I was brought up in a pub,” he said.
But, he told YorkMix, “I’m having to let staff go and reduce some menus. I used to have a lot of live music and events.
“But the people aren’t coming in, and I’m just throwing money away. So, I’ve had to stop doing that.”
And pubs matter, he said. “It’s your heritage. Pubs have been going for hundreds and hundreds of years. The people who run them change, but the pubs are a constant point; they’re central to a community.”
Series of challenges
So what’s changed? “The biggest change was the pandemic, which was a massive change; the industry hasn’t picked back up again.
“And then we had a massive hike in energy prices. You have some sort of cap on your personal household, but on a pub, there was no cap. Energy bills, after Covid, were £3,000 a month.
“Then it was the cost-of-living crisis, our food cost shot up by 30% in a year, and obviously you can’t pass that on to the customer, because they are struggling.”
People complain about the price of a pint, but little of that is profit for the pub, says James.
“The owners and the landlords of pubs aren’t making a lot of money. Out of a £5 pint of beer, the actual money in their pocket might be 40 pence once they’ve paid for the product, the staff, the tax, the rent, all the utilities.”
He added: “Pubs are massively taxed, and the landlord of a pub these days is on less money than minimum wage.
“I’ve been here two years, and I haven’t taken any money out of the business in ten months. All I’m doing is paying bills, covering my back, but I’m working for free.
“Even though it looks like a pub is busy one night of the week, it needs to be busy five or six times a week just to make a healthy profit.”
He had this message for the government: “Please speak to as many publicans, people in the hospitality industry, and listen to them.”
Ministers should cut VAT, James said . “In Germany, in Europe, it’s 4½% for hospitality. Here it’s 20%. It all just seems to be take, take, take.”
If a pub goes, it has a knock-on effect on suppliers. The Dawnay Arms uses the Bromwich Family Butcher in Haxby, Fowlers fishmongers from Heworth, Shirley’s Fruit and Veg in Easingwold.
He believes pubs are the community hub. The Dawnay has raised thousands of pounds for village causes since he took over.
“Pubs are like chameleons,” he said. “One day they are a restaurant, one day a disco, then a wake, or a wedding. They need support.”
