AN ISLE of Wight pub is closing after becoming “another victim of the current pub crisis.”
The Bugle Inn, Brading, has announced it will close on Monday, following one final day of trading tomorrow (Sunday).
The pub's owners, Daniel and Jasmine Ashley-Walker, have shared the news, explaining the financial pressures that led to their decision.
They said: "As many of you will have already heard, it is with a heavy heart that we want to inform all our customers and the Bugle community that we have become another victim of the current pub crisis.
"In the past two years, many of the taxes we pay to the government have increased drastically, our gas and electricity has increased by almost double, cost of ingredients have increased, some by as much as quadruple, wages have risen rapidly and businesses rates have increased.
"Sadly, this has left us with a hard decision to make, and quite frankly we do not want to start charging £8 for a pint of lager or £25 for a burger so we have made the decision to leave the industry that we love and close the Bugle down.
"This weekend will be our last weekend open and we will be closed from Monday.
"The decision would be so much easier if we were seeing no customers or seeing a large downturn in sales, however, we are as busy as ever, but sadly the income just doesn’t quite make enough for what’s going out.
"We would like to thank all our customers who have supported our dream and ambition to bring the Bugle back to the busy heart of the community that it always was.
"In many ways we feel we have achieved this, however, if the only way to succeed is to overcharge our loyal customers just to pay over 30 per cent of our sales to the government, that’s not our dream.
"We hope everyone understands and we will miss seeing all of our regulars, whether you came to us for drinks, evenings out, theme nights or our famous carvery.
"We are still looking for a new buyer to take on the pub and re-open it.
"We're hopeful the pub will not stay closed for long."
As previously reported back in April, Daniel and Jasmine confirmed they were placing The Bugle Inn on the open market, with the lease to be marketed through agents Scotcher and Co.
The couple, who have run the Bugle for five years, said the decision followed a change in their family circumstances, with their children now grown up.
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