Owners pledge to reopen pub in closure riddle
THE Cock and Bottle pub in Tarleton is closed until further notice – after the leaseholder “abandoned” the premises.
The Advertiser was contacted by a number of concerned readers, after the pub closed at 5pm on Wednesday last week.
A sign in the window said the pub would reopen on Saturday (October 8) but one caller, who said they were an employee, said that the leaseholder had no plans to reopen.
A spokesperson for brewers Thwaites, which owns the pub, said on Friday: “The pub is closed temporarily due to a bereavement and will reopen on Saturday.”
But Andrew Buchanan, director of pub operations at Thwaites, later said: “The pub has been abandoned by the leaseholder and we intend to recover possession.
“We will be working with a new operator to get it reopened as soon as possible and medium term we will be investing in the pub, ensuring the Cock and Bottle is at the heart of the community and the fantastic pub we know it can become and that the people of Tarleton deserve.”
The pub, in the heart of the village, has proved popular with locals for many years with its food and range of ales.
It has won a string of awards, including Thwaites’s Best What’s On Pub of the Year 2013, and Best Marketing Pub of the Year in 2014 and last year.
The mystery of the closure developed further as the family who operated the pub are believed to also run several others in Southport, including Rueters Bar, The Shrimper and The Old Ship on behalf of Punch Taverns.
Rueters closed suddenly a fortnight ago, but a sign outside The Old Ship reads: “We are not closing down, this is just a rumour.”