‘Tier 3 is going to be death of the great British pub’
Award-winning landlord fears devastating impact of closures on the community
FOR landlord Simon Delaney, owning a pub isn’t just about pulling pints.
Running the Firbank Pub and Kitchen in Wythenshawe is about bringing members of his community together - young and old - in one safe space.
It’s about making sure his elderly regulars have a conversation that day, or the local football team have somewhere to celebrate their win.
Simon, who also runs the Little Bee in Sale, has even won awards for his pub’s ability to connect people, including best community pub in Great Britain, the Spirit of Manchester and the Pride of Manchester.
But, since the beginning of the pandemic, his local community have been left without the support of one its most cherished institutions.
And, now that Greater Manchester is in Tier 3, Simon fears his pub - and many others across the country, won’t survive past Christmas.
Simon worries that even if the region is moved down to Tier 2, many of his local punters don’t have the income to support buying a ‘substantial meal’ every time they want a drink.
And the lack of support for the hospitality industry, he claims, could signal the end for what he describes as the ‘great British pub’.
“With the first lockdown everything was okay - we had the furlough and there were grants, loans, and all kinds of support,” Simon said.
“After that, when the new restrictions came in with the curfew and the substantial meal it all just went downhill.
“When we went into this second lockdown we thought it’s okay it will only be a couple of weeks, but then we have come out and we are still in lockdown here.”
Over the last five years, Simon, who drank his first ever pint in the Firbank and grew up locally, has repeatedly beaten the odds to keep the pub open.
In 2015 a gunman fired at the window of an empty pool room. And, in the months that followed, the pub was firebombed on three occasions, on the first of which Simon and his wife had to flee the pub in the early hours.
A drug dealer then demanded £5,000 from Simon to ‘make it stop’, before ending up being prosecuted for blackmail.
Simon has also fought back from a brain haemorrhage to turn the Firbank into an award-winning pub which employs local people.
Nonetheless, this year’s challenges have tested him to the limit. Particularly galling for Simon is the fact hospitality has been treated differently to retail, including non-essential shops.
“I took my wife to the Trafford Centre last week and there were people all over the place,” Simon said.
“It is great that these places are open
but it suggests that all pubs are unsafe when there is nothing to suggest that pubs aren’t safe.
“If anything, we were being harassed by the police constantly, who were coming in on a daily basis to check whether we were compliant.”
Simon said the closure of his pub has had a massive effect on the community of Wythenshawe.
Many of his regulars are people in their 70s and 80s who live on their own, and come to the pub for a coffee and to chat other locals.
Other punters include those who work at Wythenshawe Hospital, and enjoy coming into the pub after a long shift to have a pint and socialise.
“We have an old chap called Tony and he comes in for two pints of bitter every day,” Simon said.
“Most of our customers don’t even want to come here to get drunk they just want to speak to people. Coming here makes Tony’s day.
“There are lots of people like him and it is them I am most worried about.”
Simon said that whilst he hopes Greater Manchester is moved down to Tier 2 next week, the substantial meal will mean that many of his regulars won’t be able to afford to visit.
“It’s okay if you have lots of money to go out and say okay we’ll have dinner but for the majority of our customers that’s not possible.
“We are hoping we will move down to Tier 2 next week but then it’s only a few days until Christmas when households aren’t allowed to go to the pub together, so we have to decide if it’s even viable,” he said.
Whilst Simon’s staff are on furlough pay, he and his wife Rachel are not receiving an income, and cannot apply for any extra support.
Christmas is usually the pub’s busiest time, and despite Simon and Rachel having decorated, they are still not allowed to serve anyone.
“We make 40 per cent of our profit in December alone - that’s gone this year,” he said.
“Tier 3 and Tier 2 is going to be the death of the great British pub. We have already got a situation where people are leaving the industry, and they won’t come back.
“For me this is a lifestyle not a job, but now we are both having to look at taking other employment. It has left me and my wife in tears seeing what is happening to this industry.”
Simon fears his pubs won’t make it to the new year unless restrictions change, or more financial support is offered by the government. “It would be devastating if we didn’t make it,” he added.
“There aren’t many community centres left in Wythenshawe and that has become the role of the pub. If the pub isn’t here, who will it be?”
Simon said the impact on his own mental health has been profound, and he has had to seek professional help to deal with the stress of the last year.
He is still struggling to come to terms with what the future might look like for his two pubs, and the industry in general.
“We’ve had an arson attack, the pub has been shot at, but this will be our worst Christmas by far,” he said.
“Losing this pub wouldn’t be like losing a job it’s a way of life for me, but I really do fear it might be too late for the great British pub.”
We had an arson attack, the pub has been shot at, but this will be our worst Christmas by far Simon Delaney