Closing date for Wetherspoons
Wetherspoons say they are looking for another venue
A HINCKLEY pub has revealed the date when it will be closing.
Wetherspoons announced last year that it would not renew its lease for The Baron of Hinckley in Regent Street.
A spokesman for the chain has said its last day of trading will be Sunday, September 22.
The group’s boss, Tim Martin, said in December that he hopes to open another outlet in the town over the next two or three years, but the spokesman could not provide an update about this.
Mr Martin said last year: “The drinkers of Hinckley can reproach me if they haven’t got another pub there within two or three years.
“We are opening about one pub a month at the moment so we are still in expansion mode – not as much as we expanded in the past because we already have pubs in most of the obvious places.
“There will be no job losses, all staff will be relocated to our numerous pubs within the area.”
The Hinckley pub is among several premises the firm is selling off, including The Last Plantagenet in Leicester.
Nirad Solanki, who owns Elmesthorpe Brewery Company, is taking on the three-floor venue in Hinckley and wants to change as little as possible.
He said: “Wetherspoons’ legacy will live on in Hinckley. I want to leave everything as it is because I love the Wetherspoons’ concept of high turnover and low prices.” Nirad and his wife Payal also own the Dog House bar in Braunstone Gate, Leicester, and The Bulls Head in Stoney Stanton.
They also have pubs in Rugby and Gloucestershire and two bars in the Czech Republic. Under their leadership, the pub will retain its name as The Baron of Hinckley and will create 40 to 50 jobs. Changes to the current business model will include fewer hours serving food each day and the pub will also sell Elmesthorpe Brewery Company beers.
Nirad said: “I’m willing to take the chance to save the site, otherwise those people are going to just go elsewhere and I don’t want the pub trade to die out in Hinckley. “While my wife and I are extremely apprehensive we feel this is a natural next step for us.”
I want to leave everything as it is as I love the concept of high turnover and low prices Nirad Solanki