Pump and Tap pub closure leaves boss out of pocket
The boss of a pub being forced to close could be left out of pocket after ordering thousands of pounds of Christmas stock which will not be used.
The Pump and Tap, in Leicester's West End, has been told to shut its doors by Friday, November 27, because of plans by the property's owner De Montfort University to build a sports centre.
Pub boss John Husain has already ordered £10,000 of beer and spirits to see the venue through Christmas. He said he had expected to be given three months' notice by the university over the closure.
Demolition work has begun on the nearby Bowstring railway bridge to make way for the university leisure centre and pool, despite a hard-fought campaign to save it and the pub.
Mr Husain, who has run the venue for more than 20 years and usually orders stock for the festive season in early October, said he never expected the pub to be closed before Christmas.
He said: "It's a major hassle.
"We've always done our Christmas pre-ordering in October, which takes us through November and December and the New Year.
"We ordered £10,000 of stock about two weeks ago.
"It hasn't been delivered yet but we will be expected to pay for it – what happens next really depends on our relationship with the supplier.
"It's going to be difficult to get out of paying.
"We made the decision to go ahead and order for Christmas because I always expected to be given three months' notice by the university before having to close.
"But legally they're in their rights to have us out by November 27."
The pub is expected to be closed to customers by Monday, November 23 to allow equipment and furniture to be moved out.
Although Mr Husain also owns the Dos Hermanos and Barceloneta pub and restaurant, in Queens Road, Clarendon Park, he said much of the stock ordered for the Pump and Tap was not suitable for his other venues.
He said the campaign to save the pub and the Bowstring bridge was "still going strong".
"Being told to close is like organising the funeral for your best mate," he said.
"You know you've got to do it, but it's hard and you don't really want to do it."
"People are still very positive about what they want to do to save the pub and I feel sort of swept along by it, but still there's a sense of inevitability about it all."
Andy Wright, a pub regular and the former manager of the Charlotte, said: "I'm just disgusted with the whole thing.
"It's just the breaking down of the community again."
De Montfort University has not confirmed the pub will be torn down, but said it was "likely" that the site would form part of the new sports centre. It said it was unable to give further details on its plans and would not comment further.
Leicester Civic Society is this week expecting to hear the result of an appeal against a Government decision not to allow the bridge to be listed.
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by EJ, west end
Wednesday, November 25 2009, 2:42PM
“why on earth would you buy 10k of stock when your lease runs out 1month later? I thought this guy ran 2 other businesses!? and when is alcohol not suitable to be sent somewhere else! it's nearly christmas! people will drink anything anywhere! lol
The owner of this place has made a tidy profit. and probably was hardly ever there. too busy buying wine abroad for the other pubs i should imagine.
we have all known this was going to close and the bridge go for a long long time now. I live 5 mins away from it and to be honest it's a dump round there. If people cared as much as they state then it wouldn't have been left to get like this.
When the DMU has a new sports centre and MORE students are coming here and making MORE money for Leicester and improve the City and line businesses pockets will this all be remembered, No..
If all you people loved the pump and tap soo much you should spent more money in there and made it impossible for the landlord or DMU to do anything with.
Now stop moaning. get building. i'm looking forward to my 1st swim!”
by Stuart Ranger, west end
Monday, November 02 2009, 11:28AM
“i went to this pub once.”
by Leicester Resident, West End
Friday, October 30 2009, 2:23PM
“Dave Ashton - thanks for your support. There is one action that DMU alumni can take to make their views known to the institution. If you are a member of the alumni association ask them to remove you from the association/their mailing list (contact details on DMU website), and let them know why.
I would recommend this action to any DMU alumni who are against the destructed of the bridge and pub.”
by M Winner, Always West End
Friday, October 30 2009, 12:45PM
“Calm down dears, It's only commercial!! Seriously though... they should reconsider because I know that thousands of people want to be on that last Christmas photo and it would be the party of all parties... and ...... I predict a riot afterwards”
by Dave Ashton, Manchester
Friday, October 30 2009, 10:56AM
“I was at Leicester Poly when it became DMU in 92 I think.
I spent 4 years in Leicester, and 90% of my evenings in the Pump and Tap. I think the landlord was Cody then, I dont remember mr Husain, so his 20 year claim confuses me.
Regardless, I am gutted about the pending destruction, and horrified at DMU. I, like Karen, will not forgive them, and am now regretting recommeding DMU to anyone who listened in the past. I probably convinced 6 or 7 people to go there, which isnt bad. That stops of course. I am ashamed of the modern DMU and their plans. Good on you Karen. The best memories of my life revolve around that pub. I erroneously believed it knocked down a few years ago, and when I went for a reunion recently I was overjoyed to see it still there. All the plans for our reunion and wander round old haunts were abandoned in favour of a 12 hour sesh in the P&T.”
by Pump and Tap regular and bridge supporter, Leicestershire
Thursday, October 29 2009, 2:39PM
“Kenny, how dare you call Karen a loser. Why don't you come down to the bridge to talk through your ignorant reply, or are you just happy to hide and throw insults from behind your keyboard? It is obvious that all Karen, and the other supporters of the bridge and pub, are guilty of is fighting to save the heritage of Leicester's West End and they have done this with commitment, dignity, intelligence, humour and passion. You may one day realise what this is all about, but it might then be too late!!!!!”
by Sandie, Westcotes
Thursday, October 29 2009, 1:39PM
“Karen Fae Ratae should be hugely proud of herself for standing up to the blinkered LCC and the unethical corporate bully that is DMU, fighting for what she feels is right - too many of us roll over pathetically with "kick us" tattooed on our bellies in these situations.
What a relief there are still people out there like her. My god, if it wasn't for a small group of women a hundred years ago, who protested and stuck up for what they felt was right, I wouldn't even have a vote!!!”
by Kook, Westend
Thursday, October 29 2009, 1:25PM
“Good for Karen Fae Ratae!!!
She's passionate about preserving what little is left of Leicester's heritage, is happy to speak up about her cause amidst regular scorn and derision and expects to have her opinions valued and given respect by the people she votes for in local elections.
SHAME ON THE REST OF US WHO DON'T!”
by Karen Fae Ratae, Leicester
Thursday, October 29 2009, 1:17PM
“C, West End,
May I point out that the campaign to save the bridge has been hard fought since long before Western Boulevard closed on the 5th Oct, the protest that has ensued was the end of this campaign, not the beginning.
It would have been impossible and somewhat fruitless to go and stand on Braunstone Gate before the fencing went up, so we acted on that front as and when it became appropriate to do so.
As for Mr Husain and the selling of the pub, whilst I would certainly have NOT done as he has done, I know that he bitterly regrets his actions and the consequences that are now following.
Of course the only way to have safeguarded the Pump and Tap was to keep it in the hands of someone who wouldn't have allowed this to happen, although having said that, we cannot predict what may or may not have happened had the premises remained in the ownership of the Husains.
Considering the bridge has only got to go because of the demolition of the North viaduct, it's a fair guess that the pub would have ended up in jeopardy either way. A compulsary purchase order may have been issued, but we will never know.
All I do know is that both Mr Husain and the supporters and protesters all feel the same angst and deep rooted pain at this moment in time, and as we are all on the same side, ultimately, it is not in our interests to point the finger at anyone who is suffering.
The ultimate baddies here are LCC and DMU.
LCC because they should have a duty to protect the city which they represent from harm, and there can be nothing more harmful to a city than to have it flattened to dust before our very eyes.
DMU because they are monopolising the city and sweeping away some pretty stunning buildings and monuments in the face of public outcries for the contrary to happen. They are behind the wheel of a HUGE tank and basically driving over everything that stand in their path.
A trait like that is ugly in an individual, but at least we can walk away from an individual unhindered - DMU have the power to do as they please, and they will continue to ride roughshod over the city until there is nothing of historic interest left.
It is a scandal of the highest order - I don't want to have nothing but memories and photographs, I want something real and wonderful that I can embrace.
I can't make anyone love the Bowstring Bridge and the Pump and Tap, I can only act on my own passions, support my own beliefs and be true to myself. It is this which keeps burning within me, and no fight is futile if you believe in the cause as much as I do.
Ok, so it may/will be lost, but that doesn't dampen my will to fight and the will of all those wonderful people who have stood side by side in an act of unity and determination.
I'm truly grateful to have met some fantastic people for the first time down at the bridge, friendships and relationships have been formed that I'm sure will last for many years to come, and many old friends have met up again too.
I'd love to know how much real joy those who oppose the bridge and pub have had lately, I'll wager it doesn't even come close to ours!!
I'm very happy to be on the side I am on, even if I do have to walk away having lost the fight, at least we put up a fight to lose.”
by Kenny, Leicester
Thursday, October 29 2009, 12:56PM
“Calm down Karen. Its a crappy old pub and an ugly old piece of scrap metal. Born and bred in Leicester but the sooner these eyesores get knocked down the better. Campaign all you like, you've lost get over it loser!!!!”