A village pub in the Cotswolds which has taken pride in buying and using locally sourced produce in its restaurant and bar, is now at risk of going into administration. The landlord has issued a plea to the public to help keep his pub open while he navigates this tough chapter, in a bid to fully reopen again.
The Seven Tuns is located in the village of Chedworth, which is located nine miles from the centre of Cheltenham. The rising cost of utilities, food and changes of people’s going out habits are said to be the root cause of the pub’s problems.
The Seven Tuns landlord, Simon Wilson-White, 56, is desperate to avoid the pub going into administration. He was given the keys to the pub in August 2018, however it remained closed for two months due to a massive refurbishment and then the pub was ready to finally welcome customers through its doors the following October.
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He has worked in the hospitality trade for 41 years. He started work at 15-years-old doing the washing up in a kitchen, before progressing his career training to work as front of house in restaurants.
Mr Wilson-White has also travelled the world through his work, training in Switzerland, and Germany, and working on cruise ships. He also worked at The Ritz in London and was a key hand in the opening of The Ivy in London in 1993.
All that Mr Wilson-White had learned from over the years had been utilised, and his knowledge and expertise created the experience which The Seven Tuns had to offer. He and his chefs had created an excellent quality food menu, and a select and extensive wine and whiskey list.
Mr Wilson-White said: “We have had a significant drop in footfall over the past eight months. It is not just us, it is across the board for village pubs.
“The revenue has seriously diminished, and we are down £30,000 to £40,000 each month. People are spending less per head when they are going out as well.
“It has not helped with the government not protecting businesses with a spend cap on energy use. We had been paying over £6,000 per month on utilities.”
The refurbishment of The Seven Tuns cost around £140,000. The pub and gardens were given a complete overhaul and seen as an investment for the future, as Mr Wilson-White had hoped to keep the pub for many years to come.
Mr Wilson-White said: “The food we served was made from locally sourced fresh produce. We had good relationships with our meat suppliers and would serve seasonal foods.
“Even our ales and gins were from local suppliers. It may be more expensive, however it is important to me to support local businesses, and I would never compromise ourselves by deciding to swap for cheaper main brands.”
Mr Wilson-White has set up a Go Fund Me page in a bid to raise £12,000 to stop his business going into administration. The doors of The Seven Tuns closed full time opening hours at the end of November, however he is opening at the weekend, selling a limited menu.
He said: “Covid and the cost of living hit, and it was the perfect storm at destroying the pub industry. People’s going out habits have changed since the pandemic, they were going out when the restrictions were lifted, but going out during the week is not something people do very much anymore.
“There were eight members of staff, including me working here at the pub. They were all devastated, as was I, when I could no longer keep them on.”
Mr Wilson-White feels The Seven Tuns had something special and different to offer customers when they visited the pub.
He said: “We are a village pub which I feel offered a special experience to those who came to us. The quality of food was excellent, however it was also the level of service which the front of house staff gave to our customers.
“We are located in the middle of nowhere, and we had to give people something to be able to drive out for. We had to stand out and we did. I would be absolutely gutted if we had to finally close for good.
“If people could look to support us, and stay open, it would mean so much. I just need some time to get through this and back on track.”
To support Mr Wilson-White to keep The Seven Tuns open, please visit here.
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Laura Adams is a tech enthusiast residing in the UK. Her articles cover the latest technological innovations, from AI to consumer gadgets, providing readers with a glimpse into the future of technology.
