AN ACCLAIMED pub has shut suddenly.
Now the former boss of the Kaye Arms in Grange Moor has spoken of his anger and sadness
The Wakefield Road pub, owned by brewery company Enterprise Inns, closed on Thursday.
The company said new management was in place and the business should reopen next week.
Paul Andrews Garth, who gave up the lease to the pub about three weeks ago, said he was sorry to have left.
Mr Garth, who ran the business with wife Helen for two-and-a-half years, said he gave up the lease under the impression the pub would stay open and he was shocked to hear it had shut.
“It’s a very sad time for us. We truly loved that business and made some very good friends,” he said.
“We feel responsible, like we have let people down, but we couldn’t go on.”
The Kaye Arms was one of only a handful of local pubs listed in last year’s AA Pub Guide. It also featured in the Good Food Guide.
But Mr Garth, who has 20 years in the pub trade, said the business had struggled, despite the fact that it was 12% busier this year than last year.
And he attacked Enterprise Inns over a string of alleged problems that hampered trade.
He said: “The building should’ve been electrically tested and certificated and it never was.
“One of the pressure ovens was held together with a Halfords exhaust repair kit. If we hadn’t found it and repaired it for £6,000, and if it had blown, it could have taken your leg off.”
The family originally paid £125,000 a year in rent, on the basis of claims from the brewery that the business would make £1.2m. It only ever achieved £800,000.
Rent was reduced to £87,000, but the Garths ploughed in more than £50,000 in a bid to keep the pub afloat.
“Ultimately it would not deliver a profit,” Mr Garth said.
A spokeswoman for Enterprise Inns said: “We can confirm the pub has closed but we have got another retailer lined up and it should reopen shortly.”
