Cheshire pub shuts down as boss brands city 'a ghost town'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A Chester pub boss has announced its closure, labelling the city as "a ghost town". The Henry Potts, a high-end and somewhat concealed pub on Watergate Street, has shut its doors.

The basement pub, located in the former Fat Cat venue just a short distance from the Racecourse, opened its doors in June 2022.

Boss Jeremy Brunning announced the closure "with great sadness and not a little irritation", attributing the pub's downfall to the increasing work-from-home culture and "ridiculous electricity bills", CheshireLive reports. "I think we'd easily have been able to make it if more people were in their offices and keen for lunch and early evening refreshment, but most seem to be working from home," Mr Brunning said. "The commercial heart of Chester is a bit of a ghost town." READ MORE: Trafford Centre's £2.50 splash park, giant beach and fair returning for school holidays summer 2024 Mr Brunning added: "It's a beautiful pub, like a cosy little underground hideaway with excellent staff and the best quality food and drink. "However it's simply not doing enough trade.

If you saw the numbers they'd look like a lot but in today's economic environment, with ridiculous electricity bills and a host of other inflationary costs, it needs to be busier to be viable. "So we must close.