‘Had a few good times there’ say punters as major pub chain with 2,700 locations to close city centre branch in days
A MAJOR pub chain is set to shut one of its city centre branches in just days as punters recall the "good times" they had there.
Via Fossa on Canal Street in the heart of Nottingham has been trading since the late 1990s.
However, the Greene King owned pub has confirmed its doors will shut for the final time this month.
The chain, however, said that staff members will be relocated to other venues owned by Greene King across Nottingham.
Fans of the pub said how they "had a few good times there" ahead of its impending closure.
One fan described the pub as "lovely," with "lovely people" and a "great location."
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Another said: "Really nice food, staff, and it's beautiful."
A spokesperson for the pub chain : "We have made the difficult decision to close Via Fossa on the 19th of October.
"We appreciate this is difficult news to our loyal customers and we would like to thank each of them who have enjoyed visiting over the years.
"We are working closely with our team at to find alternative employment in our pubs across Nottingham, where possible.
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"The pub will remain open and trading as usual over the coming weeks.
"We have over 70 Greene King pubs in the city and surrounding suburbs including, the , which has been recently refurbished as well as and the , so we look forward to welcoming new guests to these other Greene King pubs."
Thankfully, this does not seem to be a trend for the pub giant.
However, Canal Street has seen a string of pub departures in recent years.
The nearby Waterfront pub appeared to close suddenly in spring 2023, with no explanation given about the closure.
The Company Inn at Castle Wharf, also on Canal Street, shut its doors permanently in November 2021 after it stood closed for some time.
A spokesperson for Wetherspoons, who owned the pub, said: "We appreciate that staff at the pub as well as our loyal customers will be disappointed with the decision and we appreciate their loyalty over the years."
The Fellows, Morton and Clayton pub also appeared to be closed as of September 28, with signs saying owners Stonegate Group are looking for a new publican.
This comes just months after the venue reopened under new management with a firm plan of action.
Stonegate were leasing the pub to Stout and Stone Inns, a rapidly growing pub company based in the West Midlands, with the new general manager, Andy O'Connor, saying the reopening was "all about consistency."
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun's business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store in a retail park half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103 per cent.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.
Nottingham has also seen many other closures of major high street shops over the past year.
The local Co-op store in The Meadows is set to close its doors on November 16 after being open for over 50 years.
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On September 22, Bonmarché closed its high-street branch in the Arnold area.
The city has also seen the demise of multiple Boots stores as well as the planned closure of its Victoria Centre Market.