The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Homophobic abuse leads to pub closures
Two north-east pubs have shut after the landlords claimed they were bullied out by homophobic abuse. Craig Jackson, 51, and his husband, Steven Goldie, 24, moved to Aberdeen in October last year hoping to run Broadstraik and Mains of Scotstown pubs and restaurants.
But after just a few months, and a personal investment of £40,000, they have handed back the keys, saying they have walked away after vile messages on Facebook.
Owners Punch Pubs & Co say it was not an easy decision to end their business relationship with the couple.
However, they have stressed they believe it was the “correct decision” and said they hope the bars will be open again soon with temporary management.
Mr Jackson claimed it had been “hell” running the pubs due to a social media campaign that was set up to “bully” the men.
He said: “Yes, I think some of the social media bullying is homophobic. I thought Aberdeen would be the making of us.
“We invested £40,000, we relocated ourselves and our four cats to Aberdeen and we wanted to make a real go of it.”
But after three months of online bullying, on Christmas Day the couple decided to give up.
Mr Jackson said negative social media accounts had an impact on the business.
He said he believed people had been posting fake reviews and the constant online negativity had affected sales.
Mr Jackson added: “Frankly, it became intolerable, and very distressing. Making 29 staff members unemployed is terrible for everyone.
“All staff who were owed money were paid their last week’s work and a week’s lieu time. My biggest regret is putting people out of work.
“We had a celebration for all staff on our last Sunday and we asked them to drink the bar dry, for free, on us.”
He said fuel bills and stock costs had also increased hugely in the last few months. From a £10,000 income a week, outgoings on stock, staff and fuel bills left nothing in the pot.
He said: “On Christmas Day we had two tables for dinner for families with people with dementia, and I cooked it for them, rather than turn them down. But we had to cancel everyone else. It was just not possible.”
Paul Donaldson, operations manager at Punch Pubs & Co, said: “We can confirm that both the Broadstraik Inn and the Mains of Scotstown have temporarily closed.
“We understand the importance of both pubs to their communities, and whilst the decision to bring our business relationship with our current publican to an end was not easy, we believe it was the correct decision.
“We aim to reopen both pubs under temporary management shortly whilst we recruit for our next long-term publicans.”