Sheffield pubs: Castle Inn landlord doubles down in row with Stonegate after being ordered out
A Sheffield landlord has doubled down in a row with a pub company after his tenancy was terminated “with immediate effect.”
Maurice Crookes insisted it was a “lie” that he was in breach of contract at the Castle Inn, on Twentywell Road, Bradway, as claimed by pub company Stonegate.
He also lifted the lid on the £10,000 in rent he owes, alleging it was due to problems in the kitchen which prevented it opening fully for two months.
He went on to claim he has emails from Stonegate offering compensation to cover wages and lost income but “not a penny has been received.”
A spokesperson for Stonegate said: "The tenancy agreement has been terminated as a result of contractual breaches by the tenant.
“The Castle Inn is central to the community and a new tenant will be running the pub from the 26th November. All existing bookings will be honoured.”
Last week, said he would take legal advice after Stonegate gave him two weeks to remove his effects.
He said the order came in an email out of the blue.
The boozer was starting to show the “green shoots” of revival, he said. He and his wife had spent £70,000 on improvements including a marquee, a new beer garden and kitchen equipment, he said.
Mr Crookes said he had turned around eight pubs in a 40-year career and it normally took at least 18 months.
In a post on the pub’s Facebook page, which included an image saying ‘trust no one’, he said: “It is with great sadness and anger that we at the Castle have had our tenancy terminated with immediate effect by Stonegate and two weeks to remove our effects.
“This has come with no conversation or any form of communication apart from the email I have received.”
He told The Star: “I’m very annoyed. We spent a lot of money doing things Stonegate wouldn’t do for the comfort of customers.
“We have loved running the Castle, even if only for a year, and we had committed ourselves to this pub and community for what we hoped would be a good few years.”
Uncertainty now hangs over 14 jobs, the landlord said.