Publicans prepare to pull their last pints and call it a day on the pub industry

A PUBLICAN couple say this Christmas will be their last after announcing their retirement from the pub industry - blaming extortionate costs for making it financially unviable.

- By OSCAR FISHER

The aptly named Cheryl and Paul Brew took over The Spanker in Nether Heage, near Belper, on the day the UK was put into lockdown in March 2020, with the Heineken-owned Star Pubs making plans to carry out a full refurb.

The pandemic halted the refurb, but allowed the couple to move in and begin making the pub look like home, adding a few splashes of paint and some pictures on the wall.

So when lockdown was lifted, the pub was fresh and ready to go for summer, which ended up being a huge success.

There was disappointment in November 2020, however, when another lockdown was put in place - but this time, the pub was refurbished properly following heavy investment.

What followed was four years of resounding success; busy quiz nights at full capacity, long weekends of endless pints - but the dream was brought to a halt over the last year or so, when high business rates and the cost of living became unsurvivable for the pair.

"The water bills started going up, the gas bills started going up, the electricity bills doubled," Cheryl, 61, said.