I have received a statement from Abbeydale Brewery on the closure of the Moon this morning, here it is:
Abbeydale Brewery are very sorry to announce the closure of the Moon.
We have invested a lot of time and a lot of money into the Moon but unfortunately, whilst trade had improved significantly, it had not improved quickly enough to make the business sustainable for us. The on-going losses were significant. An issue which arose unexpectedly necessitated us repaying some monies quickly and meant that we had to close the pub quickly to stem the losses and make that repayment.
We are very sorry indeed for the staff who have all been fantastic, and having to lose them was the hardest thing about all this.
This does not mean the pub will necessarily stay closed permanently. We would very much like to see a new tenant take it over, someone who could run it themselves and hence make a living out of a lower turnover than that we require to sustain the business paying managers, and we are looking to see if we can help this to happen.
Realistically we are having to close because the pub had insufficient custom to make the business viable. The message here for everyone who appreciates the efforts of any pub or venue has to be "Use it or lose it." In the present climate many pubs are in danger if people don't actually use them.
The good news for us is that in closing the Moon we have very much secured the future of the brewery and our first pub, the Rising Sun, which are both healthy, profitable businesses.
It was a heartbreaking decision for us but one which we had to make
to secure the future.
Just the wrong location for it I feel. Too far off the ale circuit and not attractive to Upperthorpe drinkers. I would have thought that may have been thought about when the brewery took it on in the first place. Sounds like rather a poor business decision in the first place.
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Have to agree flightlevel. Very odd choice on their part. Compare for example to Thornbridge's acquisition of the University Arms, again, not on the real ale circuit (quite) but with the right potential drinkers on hand. The Moon was just in the wrong place. If only they'd looked in Crookes or Broomhill maybe. Either of those places, and numerous other areas have no doubt, I think, have a gap for a nice pub with good beer would give the existing tatty, pretty average pubs something to compete with. Still a shame to see The Moon have to close its doors.
Just the wrong location for it I feel. Too far off the ale circuit and not attractive to Upperthorpe drinkers. I would have thought that may have been thought about when the brewery took it on in the first place. Sounds like rather a poor business decision in the first place.
you could say that about the fatcat,kelham,riverside,cask&cutler,hillsbourgh hotel all in the valley of beer and all within 10 mins walk of the moon
Expect to see more pubs closing! 57 a month nationally is the latest figure. I have almost completely stopped using pubs since the smoking ban and the government putting up tax will add further to their demise. As for the moon - went in the first night it opened and (although I didn't know it) one of their last nights. Not really impressed but then again I find Abbeydale overprice their beers and their products don't appeal to me. I'm not really surprised, I don't understand how they have made a success of the Rising Sun - it used to be a really good thriving pub until they got hold of it. Can't stand the place now.
Expect to see more pubs closing! 57 a month nationally is the latest figure. I have almost completely stopped using pubs since the smoking ban and the government putting up tax will add further to their demise. As for the moon - went in the first night it opened and (although I didn't know it) one of their last nights. Not really impressed but then again I find Abbeydale overprice their beers and their products don't appeal to me. I'm not really surprised, I don't understand how they have made a success of the Rising Sun - it used to be a really good thriving pub until they got hold of it. Can't stand the place now.
Before Abbeydale got hold of the rising sun it was scruffy with pretty poor beers and normally totally empty apart from chav drug dealers in back room playing pool.
Now it is a pleasant pub with friendly staff and clientele selling the freshest beer within a few miles radius.
What is the area like folks, im not familiar with it ?
Its a bit of a downbeat area to be honest. The main hope for the Moon was that they could join the other pubs thereabouts and become established on the "real ale circuit"
We went a few times but the beer was always 20p dearer than the Cask and The Hillsborough Hotel and the bar staff weren't particularly friendly.
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Before Abbeydale got hold of the rising sun it was scruffy with pretty poor beers and normally totally empty apart from chav drug dealers in back room playing pool.
Now it is a pleasant pub with friendly staff and clientele selling the freshest beer within a few miles radius.
Stay at home with your fags. You wont be missed.
I am a non smoker, but the smoking ban has made many of my friends not go to pubs. I don't go to as many pubs now because the price is too high. I agree that the beer was not that good, but it was cask ale, popular, and most importantly was only half the price of Abbeydale beers. Whenever I used the pub, which was pretty often, it was generally doing a fair trade because of the cheap prices. The staff (who incidentally knew how to pull a full pint) and clientele were always friendly, the "chav drug dealers" were just local youths, many of their parents were in the lounge. Also, again personal preference, I actually quite like the scruffier pubs, the Rising Sun now seems like a dentist's waiting room. The Ranmoor Inn sells just as good products at a marginally cheaper price. I disagree with you about being missed though - pubs need customers and I could see the Rising Sun going the same way as the Moon even if it is popular. Abbeydale need to sell beer in other outlets first and foremost. If these outlets are closing they will have problems because in a declining market their beers don't match up to better real ales and their prices are sky high.
Abbeydale need to sell beer in other outlets first and foremost. If these outlets are closing they will have problems because in a declining market their beers don't match up to better real ales and their prices are sky high.
A rather unwarranted and inaccurate attack, I think. If you're a fan of the paler, hoppier real ales, I'd argue that Abbeydale's products are amongst the best not just locally but nationwide. As a connoisseur of this beer style I'd rate Abbeydale in the top 4, only just behind Oakham, Durham and Wentworth.
As for sky-high prices, distance prevents me making any more than the occasional visit to the Rising Sun, but I think the Matins session beer was around £2 a pint. Considering that the pubs in Totley (a similar socio-economic area to Fulwood) are charging around £3 a pint for real ale these days, that's hardly "sky-high", is it?
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A rather unwarranted and inaccurate attack, I think. If you're a fan of the paler, hoppier real ales, I'd argue that Abbeydale's products are amongst the best not just locally but nationwide. As a connoisseur of this beer style I'd rate Abbeydale in the top 4, only just behind Oakham, Durham and Wentworth.
I agree, I do enjoy many of the Abbeydale ales and I would consider them to to currently the BEST available from local brewers.
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Good point - as a smoker and regular pub go-er I've noticed how trade is soaring since all the non-smokers who never went out when smoking was allowed, and moaned about it, have all suddenly started flocking into the pubs since the smoking ban.
I can barely get to the bar in my local some nights.
I wouldn't put Abbeydale even in the top 20, but I suppose taste is subjective. I still pay less than £2 a pint for similar real ales to moonshine. I have not noticed more people in pubs post smoking ban. Certainly the rate at which pubs are closing is accelerating faster now than ever, which suggests trade is falling. I didnt plan an "attack" on Abbeydale, thats just my opinion, since The Moon has closed because people won't buy beer there, perhaps other people share my views too. Didn't intend to upset anyone ! Happy drinking !
