Woolwich Equitable pub halts reopening
Plans to reopen the Woolwich Equitable pub have been cancelled by owners Antic blaming the recently introduced 10pm closing time.
A recent post looking at plans to convert upper floors of the Woolwich Equitable building into holiday flats got me thinking just what is happening with the pub on the ground floor.
Well, the bad news as it looks like any reopening is off for now.
The pub’s website states:
“We have been working hard behind the scenes to get Woolwich Equitable ready to reopen this month, however I’m afraid that the Government announcement that all pubs must operate table service only and will close by 10pm, restrictions that might be in place for perhaps the next 6 months, means that this is not quite the right time for us to do so.
Whilst this is extremely frustrating for all concerned, and we very much hope that the restrictions may be lifted sooner, we shall unfortunately remain closed here until further notice.”
For my money the pub is the best in Woolwich. It has character, decent choice of drinks, decent food alongside a fun quiz and regular live music. Unfortunately it never really seems to have truly taken off. Am I wrong in that?
Opening hours were limited, and nearby pubs operated by the same group such as Eltham GPO have reopened. Hopefully the pub still has a bright future.
Completely agree, good value pub, excellent food, non pretentious, the sort of place where all can go and enjoy a great drink and chat
The problem is this pub is owned and run by Antic. I worked for the company for nearly three years, all in all, not a bad experience, lovely colleagues, however the company model is to buy character properties and turn them into pubs with little investment put into the actual property. They come across as ‘shabby chic’ but often there are structural and H&S issues within the properties which don’t get addressed. Sometimes dangerously so. What you see out front is only half the story. The staff often have to deal with everything from consistently breaking lavatories (antic love a broken loo), pest infestations, rotting wood, leaks, and broken equipment. Every pub has these issues but they are famous for only spending money when it is ABSOLUTELY necessary. And that means, “that’s going to effect profit”. I once saw a flooded ceiling fall in on staff during service and it was a week later before it was addressed. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard they are planning on opening holiday lets in their properties. They have been ‘trying’ to do it for years. It never gets done. I’d bet my left leg that the upper floors of the Equitable are almost derelict and, while they may like the idea, it would cost hundreds of thousands to make safe and structurally sound. They’ll decide it’s more profitable to keep the pub going as it is until it literally starts falling down. And the longer the Equitable is closed, the less profit it’ll make for the company, the longer it’ll take for them to get their needed repairs. Next time you’re in an Antic pub see if you can spot a broken nic-nac. Nearly every pub is decorated the same way by the same team of 19 year old ‘interior designers’. They love displaying a broken figurine, pot, or picture frame and making you think it’s all part of the shabby chic, boho vibe. It’s not. It’s broken, but it only cost 50p from Oxfam, so it’s going on the wall.