Last orders
AFTER six months’ trading, a Lochgilphead landlord is to call last orders soon.
A LOCHGILPHEAD publican has hit out at his landlord’s ‘lack of vision’ as his tenancy comes to an end.
Blair Johnston spoke to the Argyllshire Advertiser as he winds down his business after six months at the Argyll Inn.
Mr Johnston said: ‘Let’s say my vision and that of the owners of the Argyll Inn were somewhat different. We didn’t see eye to eye at all.’
He claims that the owner of the hotel, Punch Taverns, failed to carry out basic maintenance over many years prior to by COLIN CAMERON editor@argyllshireadvertiser.co.uk July 2016, when he took over the lease on a month-by-month basis.
According to the 39-year-old, the kitchen was unfit for use when he took over and ‘needed gutting’. This left him unable to serve food until November, when upgrading work was completed.
But that was not the only area where expectations and reality diverged, as he claims: ‘Punch said they were going to invest in upgrading the snug area for dining, and my idea was to offer good food, decent wine and broaden the Argyll’s appeal.’ The investment, says Mr Johnston, never happened.
And with the hotel bedrooms and accommodation also in need of renovation, landlord and tenant again failed to agree.
‘I wanted to modernise the accommodation and move it a bit more upmarket, but what Punch had in mind was more like a youth hostel.’
Mr Johnston continued: ‘I came into the Argyll Inn last summer with motivation, optimism and energy, but that has gone.’
With bar takings offering the only regular income, he decided that enough was enough.
‘I have done my best to turn the Argyll Inn into a music venue, and put on various other events,’ Mr Johnston said. ‘I think it’s been appreciated by customers, and I want to thank them for their support.
‘I believe the Argyll could be the hub of the Lochgilphead community, offering a place to socialise with family and friends – but if they [Punch Taverns] have no vision, that simply will not happen.
‘They told me they wouldn’t get enough return on investment in the place, but I believe this could be a very good business if they spent money properly on the building.’
Mr Johnston conceded that he had been, in his own words, ‘a bit naive’, but added: ‘Next time I won’t make decisions based on trust. It’s been a learning process.’
Mr Johnston’s time at the helm of the Argyll Inn will end when the final barrel runs dry over the next week or two.