‘We’re wounded’ cry punters as major brewery with £16.2m turnover shuts city centre bar despite ‘working tirelessly’

PUNTERS were left devastated after a popular boozer announced it will be shutting up one of its bars for good later this month.

Tiny Rebel Brewery, in Newport, has just announced that it is being forced to shut the venue after just under a decade on the high street.

The Newport-based brewery took to social media to say that it was no longer financially viable to keep the bar open.

Despite a huge turnover of £16.2 million last year, Wales' biggest brewery can no longer keep up with the cost of living.

Tiny Rebel said: "Since the pandemic, Newport City Centre has been slowly imploding, with retail and hospitality suffering the worst of it.

"Footfall has been decreasing, operating costs have increased significantly and the hospitality sector has had limited support from the government.

"Unfortunately, our Tiny Rebel Bar on Newport High Street has been a casualty of these factors."

The brewery added that it had spent the last 18 months trying to keep the bar above water, but has now been forced to make this difficult decision.

The company added they will be doing everything in their power to support their current staff, whether they stay with them or move on.

The Newport bar will be open until March 31.

Tiny Rebel was conceived by friends Brad Cummings and Gareth Williams who started home brewing in their garage.

Over the last decade or so, the company has grown exponentially and is now worth millions.

It has a popular bar on Westgate Street, Cardiff, and a brewery in Rogerstone.

The Newport brewery was initially opened as a pop-up in 2015, and continued to operate due to its popularity.

Local punters have been left devastated by the news, with many taking to social media to express their grievances.

One Facebook user wrote: "This really sucks. Tiny Rebel is one of the main draws to Newport City Centre for sure, it will only get worse without it."

Another said: "Nooo, absolutely gutted, the staff there are all absolutely stellar! Geek Retreat had such a good Christmas party there last December, we were hoping to celebrate the stores 2nd birthday there as well."

While a third added: "Absolutely gutted.. my fave bar/pub.so gonna miss the dirty fries, wings, great beer, tunes & staff.. can't believe it."

Former colleagues even joined the masses of disheartened fans.

One posted: "One of the best places I've ever worked. I wish all my ex colleagues the best for the future. One love, guys."

The news comes just days after a popular family-owned brewery, based in Knutsford, Cheshire, has revealed it will be shutting for good.

The English family-run brewery has delivered beers to pubs for 14 years and said it's "truly saddened" to have "come to the end of the road".

On Facebook, the brewer explained how "unprecedented increases in cost of living, fuel prices, raw materials and many other factors" ultimately made it "no longer viable" for them to carry on.

A report from last year showed 45 UK craft breweries have become insolvent - a major jump from the 15 insolvencies recorded the year before, according to .

The major drinks giant Brewdog, permanently closed a brewing site on an iconic beer mile last year.

According to Brewdog, the site had to be shut down because of "rampant inflation, soaring utility costs and relentless cost of living pressures".