GONE WEST Staff and regulars not over the Moon as pub suddenly shuts
A popular pub shut its doors without warning this week, leaving staff and punters out in the cold.
Town centre favourite West of the Moon suddenly pulled down the shutters on Monday morning.
Sources said workers arrived to receive the shock news, which came just hours ahead of lunch service.
It follows bar bosses trying to flog the struggling venue all year.
We told last November how the Ayr diner was slapped on the market with an £ 80,000 lease.
Hastily printed signs on the Arthur Street bar now claim it is “closed for kitchen refurbishment”.
But insiders rubbished that notion — and said staff didn’t see any closure coming.
One source said: “People turned up for work as normal, only to be told the place was shutting.
“Trade has been tough, but none of the staff had any warning the move was coming.”
Another source added: “It came completely out of the blue for the staff.
“Customers had even booked tables for Monday and turned up to find the place closed.”
The 130- seat bar was still promoting special food deals to punters on its Facebook page last week.
A promotional “wrap of the day” was advertised at just £ 2.99.
However, the pub had faced the wrath of food inspectors last year when a total of 22 hygiene breaches were uncovered.
Mouldy Halloumi cheese and out- of- date food were among a raft of complaints from council snoops.
West of the Moon, owned by Debbie Cairns and her brothers Jimmy and Justin Horne, has traded in town for 19 years and was once a mainstay of the town’s pub scene.
But survival in the once thriving Arthur Street strip, where the family also leases out Club de Mar, has proven an ongoing battle.
Nobody from West of the Moon r returned the Post’s calls.
• Meanwhile, another town centre attraction is facing a fight for survival.
Madisons Nightclub is being offered to the highest bidder with an asking price of just £ 90,000.
The Carrick Street venue is also available for a £ 24,000 annual lease.
Agents Rightmove describe the club as a “profitable and successful business”.
It says: “Madisons benefits from a state of the art Nexo sound system, with CD- J2000 decks and state of the art lighting system.
“The business is being sold due to the current vendor’s other business interests.”
M