Closing time Tiny pub’s last orders on Christmas Eve
THE landlords of a well-regarded micropub have announced that they will have to close their doors by Christmas Day, due to everrising costs and a difficult trading environment.
The tiny local pub was the runner-up for Cheltenham’s Pub of the Year 2022.
The Angry Parrot, a small independent and locally-owned establishment on St James Street, opened just days before the coronavirus lockdown in March 2020, eventually returning 15 months later in the summer of 2021.
The micropub aims for the pub patron that wants niche beers from trendy breweries, without the noise of a football match or chart music getting in the way of a board game or friendly conversation.
But with difficult prevailing economic headwinds and punters with fewer pounds in their pockets, partnerowners Paul Cook and Jo Hobbs have said that the rising costs to just do business are forcing them out of the trade.
In an emotional video announcing the closure, Paul said: “Unless things drastically improve, we are going to have to shut on Christmas Eve.”
He went on to say: “We have invested so much time and money into the place, there is no more to invest... Unless we have a miracle in the next month or so, unfortunately, on Christmas Eve we are going to have to close the doors.”
Paul went on to thank all the friends and patrons who helped them refine the Angry Parrot, but said it was a tought time to be a small business: “What with Covid, opening up 10 days before Covid and being hit for six with that.
“The war in Ukraine, which has put up the prices of various things, the cost of living crisis, and the general uncertainty floating around at the moment.”
Jo said: “The awards that the pub has won in such a short amount of time is a testament to what it does, it is so nice to have fun characters and the lovely people that we have in and it is a place for everybody.
“We don’t know what else to do when everyone comes in and says that the beer is great, and it is. It’s just not consistent enough, it’s not financially viable. It’s a damn shame.”
The micropub will be open for four days each week in December, from Wednesday to Saturday, with a range of ales - including a 12 per cent Christmas Pudding and Clotted Cream stout exclusive to the Parrot.