LAST ORDERS LLANDOGER TROW ONE OF BRISTOL’S OLDEST PUBS IS CLOSING DOWN
ONE of Bristol’s oldest and most iconic pubs will close next month, the Bristol Post can reveal.
Brewers Fayre, owners of the historic Llandoger Trow, have confirmed it will close for good after last orders on April 20, which will come as a huge blow to the countless people who have visited it over the years.
Visit England claims the King Street inn, which dates back to 1664 and acted as Louis Stevenson’s inspiration for the Admiral Benbow pub in Treasure Island, is the oldest in Bristol – although others claim it is not quite as old as The Hatchet Inn in Frogmore Street.
But there will be little dispute its closure comes as a major shock, with concern now surrounding what will happen to it given its reported high maintenance costs and listed status, which makes renovation work difficult.
A spokesperson for Whitbread, which owns Brewers Fayre and the adjoining Premier Inn, said the Llandoger Trow is closing as it’s “rather different” from the rest of the company’s estate.
She said: “We can confirm the Llandoger Trow Brewers Fayre will be closing on April 20 and the property will be put on the market.
“We understand the Trow is a much-loved Bristol landmark and it is being marketed as a going concern, but it is rather different from the rest of the Whitbread estate.
“The sale of course means the site will no longer be owned by Whitbread but we remain absolutely committed to the Bristol community and are excited to be opening a new all-day dining restaurant, Bar + Block Steakhouse, just around the corner in King Street.
“We’ve owned the building next to the Premier Inn for many years now and its redevelopment is going to provide a restaurant that’s more suited to the needs of our hotel guests.”
The Post understands all of the Llandoger Trow’s staff have been offered jobs at other Brewers Fayre branches.
Bar + Block, a Whitbreadowned steakhouse chain with branches in Bath, Birmingham, Nottingham and London, promises to deliver an ‘ever-changing selection of steaks, seasonal dishes and mouth-watering cocktails’ with its opening planned for April 23.
In August last year, the alarm bells started ringing when Twitter account Weird Bristol noticed the Llandoger Trow had been shut for consecutive Wednesdays.
The Bristol Post learned it had been taken over by a new manager, Lee Hazel, who allayed fears by ruling out a closure and claiming the business was in fact on the verge of an exciting transformation.
However, when approached by the Post yesterday morning, a member of staff at the Llandoger Trow said Lee has since moved on from the pub.
On a street with as much passing trade as King Street, you would be forgiven for thinking such a high-profile closure would come as a major shock to nearby business owners.
But Lori Richards, one of the managers at the Old Duke, located directly opposite, said she and her colleagues saw it coming. They are now excited to see what happens to the site, providing it’s taken on by the right people.
“We heard rumours it was about to close a while back but to be honest we weren’t that surprised,” she said.
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We understand the Trow is a much-loved Bristol landmark and it is being marketed as a going concern, but it is rather different from the rest of the Whitbread estate
A Whitbread spokesperson