The BBC reports on the sudden and bizarre closure of The Abbey, a tiny historical pub in Derby, England, whose operators were dismissed with immediate effect because someone took a photo in the building.
CLOSED!! Due to someone posting pictures of the Abbey on social media. Sam Smith has taken the alcohol and closed these premises.
The pub is part of a 200-house chain operated by Samuel Smith's, a centuries-old family brewery now run by a "Dickensian" 80-year-old micromanager, Humphrey Smith. The Guardian recently profiled him and his empire; there's not much nice to be written about them, apparently. The sudden pub closings are par for the course, and are often justified by peculiar house rules.
Then, all of a sudden, Smith became angry. "He said: 'What is this? This is absolutely awful.' He threw a tantrum," Bienko said. Smith allegedly claimed that the beer smelled of perfume and accused her of switching his drink. "It was like he was putting on an act, or a circus show. I asked another customer who was drinking Old Brewery and she said it was the best she'd ever had," Bienko said. "Mr Smith looked at me and said: 'Are you telling me I'm lying?' He sounded like a child."
Two days later, representatives from Samuel Smith arrived to perform an inventory check. Accompanying them was a man who changed the locks. On 17 October, less than a month after Bienko and Liam had opened for business, the New Inn was closed.
The restorations and no-technology rules are good—it's nice to have somewhere to go that isn't full of screens. But letting pubs fall into ruin, tyrannical employment practices, and snarling local taxpayers in expensive litigation? Not so impressive. The brewery willingly abandoned its corporate liability limitations so they could keep the books private, too. Given the scale of the real estate investments and dozens (hundreds?) of shuttered pubs, you'd think someone would be just a little suspicious.
Previously:
• Just add Guinness: the strange world of prefab 'Irish pubs'
• British pubs begin 'surge pricing' drinks
• Developers who demolished famously crooked pub must rebuild it as it was
