A Wiltshire pub will remain closed for the “foreseeable future” after a lack of business forced its current landlords to leave.
Martin and Julie Crane reopened The Crown, on New Park Street in Devizes, just over seven months ago but are now set to depart at the end of the month.
The Wadworth owned pub, which sits just down the road from the brewery’s old Northgate Street site, closed its doors for the final time under the pair’s management on New Year’s Eve.
It will remain shut until the couple leaves the town centre venue and the brewery locates new tenants.
Mr Crane told this paper that he and his wife were forced into the decision after a lack of sales left them “penniless.”
He 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.
“The expenses were about what we thought, apart from the rates which we’ve been trying to get down, but we’re taking less money.
“It’s very hard to get it going again but the lack of drinkers is a problem, we just ran out of money basically.”
While Mr Crane believes the lack of trade at the pub was down to several factors, including location and the cost of living crisis, he also pointed to a change in customer attitudes since the pandemic.
He 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.
“There’s not as much trade, I just don’t think the money is about at the moment.”
After over 30 years in the industry, Mr and Mrs Crane are now planning to leave pub work behind and look for a “normal” occupation.
The latest closure of The Crown comes after a difficult period for the venue.
It remained shut for nine months in 2022 before undergoing a major renovation and briefly reopening under the previous tenant, Robert Carter.
Despite these extensive renovations, the pub was on the market again just a few months later and remained empty until it was taken on by the Cranes.
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