Popular bar chain with 52 branches shuts ‘superb’ site as regulars sob ‘I loved it there’
A POPULAR bar chain has closed a city centre venue for the last time in a blow for punters.
All Bar One in Brighton pulled its shutters down for the last time yesterday (September 7) due to the lease expiring.
A statement on the bar’s website reads: “Unfortunately, this bar is now closed as an All Bar One.
“Thank you to all our loyal guests for all your previous time spent with us.”
Punters have been reacting to the news on social media, with many sad to see the bar go.
One said: “Brighton won’t be the same without All Bar One.”
Another wrote: “So sad. l loved it there.”
A third tagged their pal and wrote: “Oh blimey!!!”
A fourth posted: “Bloody hell, didn’t see that coming.”
Elsewhere, Google reviews for the bar are glowing.
One describes it as “superb” and others have said the “ambience is great”.
They said: “Food and drinks were superb. The staff were friendly and helpful.
“Ambiance was great and tables and chairs outside are the best place to be under the sun.. highly recommended.. we will definitely be back there soon..”
While another wrote: “We had our work drinks and dinner there and we couldn’t fault it. Considering the size of our group the service was attentive, friendly and speedy.”
The bar chain, which is owned by Mitchells and Butlers, has a total of 52 sites across the UK.
A spokesperson previously told The Sun that the company is looking to move staff to other locations as possible.
They said: “We can confirm the All Bar One Brighton will close on Saturday, September 7, 2024. This decision has been taken after careful consideration and as part of the continual review of our estate.”
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun’s business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store in a retail park half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103 per cent.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.
What is happening in the hospitality industry?
Food and drink chains in general have been suffering as the cost of living has led to fewer people spending on eating out.
Businesses had been struggling to bounce back after the pandemic, only to be hit with soaring energy bills and inflation.
Multiple chains have been affected, resulting in big-name brands like Wetherspoons and Frankie & Benny’s closing branches.
Most recently, Revolution Bars revealed it would close 25 more locations across the UK following approval in the High Court for a restructuring plan.
It comes as the bar chain closed 11 locations in August as part of a major overhaul.
Bars in Blackpool, Chester and Norwich closed for the final time.
It added a further undisclosed site will close, or has already closed.
After the overhaul is completed, the company said it will operate 27 Revolution Bars, 15 Revolucion de Cuba bars, 22 Peach Pubs and one Founders & Co site – leaving it with 65 venues in total.
Plus, Premier Inn owner Whitbread is set to axe 1,500 jobs and close over 200 restaurants and pubs in the coming months.
Whitbread plans to slash its chain of branded restaurants across the UK in favour of building more hotel rooms.
Elsewhere, some chains have not survived, Byron Burger fell into administration last year, with owners saying it would result in the loss of over 200 jobs.
Pizza giant, Papa Johns announced plans in recent months to shut down 43 of its stores.
Tasty, the owner of Wildwood, said it will shutter the sites as part of major restructuring plans.
The brand also announced plans to close 20 loss-making restaurants after a “challenging” start to the year.
Britain’s biggest pub company, Stonegate, has raised fears about its survival as it races to plug its debts.
Stonegate owns 4,432 sites across the UK under the Slug & Lettuce, Be at One, Sports Bar and Grill brands and 350 traditional style pubs under its “Proper Pubs” banner.
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