Eyesore scaffolding has forced me to flog pints for £2.70 – punters step outside only to be greeted by fence & portaloo
A PUB landlord has been forced to flog pints for £2.70 after his business was engulfed by scaffolding.
Dave Hawyes says punters have been deterred by the “eyesore” display, making his life a living hell with endless bills mounting up.
Dave opened the Nottingham Forest-themed pub, named the Mist Rolling Inn, two years ago along Derby Road.
He told Nottinghamshire Live: “It’s been catastrophic, our takings dropped from around £3,000 a week, to roughly £700 a week.
“We’re treading water, we are very much struggling unfortunately.
“We had an upsurge in revenue immediately after the article and the following week but this weekend was dire possibly due to the marches in the Square.”
Since the scaffolding was put into place to restore the flats above, takings have reportedly dropped by a staggering 75 percent according to Nottinghamshire Live.
Tom Head, who runs Nottingham Pint Guide on Instagram, has appealed to flocks of followers urging for their support towards the struggling pub.
Mr Head said: “I have a lot of faith in Nottingham and its community spirit.
“So much so, I’m fairly confident that we can all help Mist Rolling Inn, a pub that’s in desperate need of some support.
“Dave Hawyes owns this boozer – and he’s fighting tooth and nail to stay afloat.
“Property company Places For People erected scaffolding around the building in February, to carry out residential repairs upstairs.
“Mist Rolling Inn relies largely on passing trade – but that has been discriminated by the presence of steel frames, wooden boards, and a portable toilet outside the front door.”
Mr Head said, to help boost trade, English and Americana folk band Dixie Jack are hosting a free gig on Friday evening.
The discounted beers will be on rotation, currently it’s Lincoln Brewery’s Imperial Ale.
The hellish scaffolding is expected to come down at the end of this month.
A spokesperson for Places for People, which erected the scaffolding said: “Scaffolding has been put in place at Regent Mews so we can complete important works to replace the roof of the building which had been experiencing leaks.
“We communicated this with Mr Hawyes in advance and have erected his signage on the scaffolding to signpost passing trade to his pub.
“We apologise for any inconvenience the scaffolding may be causing and it is due to be taken down at the end of this month in line with the licence provided by the local authority.
“Mr Hawyes has contacted us about loss of trade and we have agreed a compensation fee with him.
“We are waiting for him to provide us with the relevant documentation we need to process the compensation payment.”