A Wiltshire pub with “huge potential” is looking for new landlords after shutting its doors earlier this year.
The Crown, on New Park Street in Devizes, has been closed since New Year’s Eve when tenants Martin and Julie Crane announced they were leaving at the end of January.
Wadworth, the owner of the pub that sits just a short distance from their old brewery site, is now marketing the town centre venue as they look for new business partners to occupy it.
The brewery believes The Crown has potential for growth and is looking for someone to offer something different to other destinations in Devizes.
A spokesperson said: “The Crown had been a very popular site in the heart of the town centre for many years with a loyal following, catering for locals, tourists, and families.
“This is a great opportunity for an operator looking to move to the next level with a site that has huge potential.
“We are looking for a point of difference in the offering to what is currently available in the town.”
Mr and Mrs Crane, who had over 30 years of experience in the industry, told this paper they were forced to close the pub after a lack of sales left them “penniless.”
At the time, Mr Crane said: “Everything is fine with Wadsworth they’ve been ok and given me plenty of support but there’s just not enough people coming through the doors.
“It’s very hard to get it going again but the lack of drinkers is a problem, we just ran out of money basically.
“There’s not as much trade, I just don’t think the money is about at the moment.”
He believes this lack of regular customers was down to changes in people’s spending habits during the cost of living crisis.
The former landlord added: “We couldn’t get it to even half of what it used to do, the food did alright but we were always up against it.
“We’re grateful for the support of the regulars we had but it’s difficult to get more from scratch, since Covid lots of things have changed.”
The Crown has estimated ingoing costs of £19,000 and boasts an impressive outside bar, kitchen, and seating.
Major renovations were carried out at the pub at the end of 2022, when the venue briefly reopened under the previous tenant, Robert Carter.
It then remained closed for several months before the Cranes took it on in May last year.
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