‘Best place to boogie’ lament punters as iconic bar chain to shut ‘amazing’ venue forever in string of mass closures

HEARTBROKEN punters have lamented a town's bar as the "best place to boogie" after it announced it is closing down "forever".

Revolution Bath is shutting next month the venue announced on Facebook amid a string of closures for troubled owners Revolution Bars Group.

In a post it said: "Our team is absolutely heartbroken and we want to thank you so much for partying with us!

"We would love for you to visit us again before we close and you can up until the 2nd of November!

"If you have a booking after the 2nd November a member of our team will be in contact ASAP. Love team Revs Bath."

The bar is set to host Halloween Till Revs Do Us Par Revolution Finalè Closing Halloween Party.

The event runs until 3am.

Writing in the comments, one person said "best club in Bath" and another added "end of an era".

A third person said: "Only place I liked to end up in! Very happy memories of going in there for one drink after work then ending up out all night!"

One reveller admitted the bar has a very special place in his heart for an important reason.

He said: "Met my amazing wife here and nearly 15 years later still going strong."

OTHER CLOSURES

The company's plans to close 25 locations across the UK is part of a restructuring plan granted approval by the High Court.

It will mean the popular chain can avoid insolvency after struggling since the pandemic.

After the overhaul is completed, the company said it will operate 65 venues.

This will consist of 27 Revolution Bars, 15 Revolucion de Cuba bars, 22 Peach Pubs and one Founders & Co site.

A full list of locations affected has not yet been revealed, but it will affect loss-making bars.

The company has fallen on hard times in recent years, as the cost of living crisis and young Brits drinking less has damaged sales.

The boozer needed the court to sanction its overhaul which it hopes will restore its finances after a difficult few years following the pandemic.

It is hoped that the High Court ruling will draw a line under a difficult few months for the business.

Commenting in August, executive Rob Pitcher said: “The group is now well diversified across the key brands, providing a more secure financial base and we look forward to the future with improved optimism.

"We know this has been a very difficult period for all of our teams both in our sites and in our support office and I’d like to thank them for their support and resilience.”

This is not the first time the brand has shuttered pubs.

In 2020, the bar chain announced plans to shutter six sites as it struggled to keep afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.

More recently in July, Revolution Bars Group revealed to The Sun it would shutter 11 locations on August 11 as part of a major overhaul.

What is happening in the hospitality industry?

Food and drink chains in general have been suffering as the cost of living has led to fewer people spending on eating out.

Businesses had been struggling to bounce back after the pandemic, only to be hit with soaring energy bills and inflation.

Multiple chains have been affected, resulting in big-name brands like Wetherspoons and Frankie & Benny's closing branches.

Bars will welcome in guests for the final time in Blackpool, Chester and Norwich next month.

Plus, Premier Inn owner Whitbread is set to axe 1,500 jobs and close over 200 restaurants and pubs in the coming months.

Whitbread plans to slash its chain of branded restaurants across the UK in favour of building more hotel rooms.

Elsewhere, some chains have not survived, Byron Burger fell into administration last year, with owners saying it would result in the loss of over 200 jobs.

Pizza giant, Papa Johns announced plans to shut down 43 of its stores.

Tasty, the owner of Wildwood, said it will shutter the sites as part of major restructuring plans.

The brand also announced plans to close 20 loss-making restaurants after a “challenging” start to the year.

Britain's biggest pub company, Stonegate, previously raised fears about its survival as it races to plug its debts.

Stonegate owns 4,432 sites across the UK under the Slug & Lettuce, Be at One, Sports Bar & Grill brands and 350 traditional style pubs under its “Proper Pubs” banner.

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