Boss of £1-a-meal pub calls time as trade falls

The boss of an historic Staffordshire pub that became famous for its recession-busting £1 meal deals is calling last orders after losing up to £800 a week.

Landlord Tony Rabbitts is having to pull the plug on The Four Crosses, situated on the A5 heading out of Cannock, which dates back over 400 years.

Mr Rabbitts and his family hit the headlines in 2008 after introducing a cut-price menu, with meals priced just £1.

These went as cheap as 50p for a period and Christmas dinners were £2 during the offer.

Now after 10 years he is quitting the pub in Watling Street, Hatherton, from March 1, putting a question mark over its long-term future.

Mr Rabbitts, aged 52, said although business was good over weekends he has struggled to attract enough trade throughout the week.

He said he has now given notice of his intention to finish running the pub, which was visited by highwayman Dick Turpin centuries ago and has been compared to like visiting the Black Country Museum.

"It will be a sad moment as it is a family thing," he said. "But with the drop in trade we can't survive.

"It is a lovely building and kids think they are coming into the Black Country Museum. But it has been costing us £800 a week and we can't sustain that. We are not sure what we are going to do next."

Mr Rabbitts has been running the business with wife Kay and their 28-year-old son Ben and daughter Jessica, 24. It launched its pioneering £1 menu more than three years ago to save the business.

In 2009 nearly 900 people took advantage of a special £2 Christmas meal offer at the pub. The measure saw an increase in customers but after the summer trade was down 30 to 40 per cent so prices were then dropped ever further for a time.

Mr Rabbitts had initially been preparing to give up the pub after seeing trade plummet and bills soar in the wake of the smoking ban. But the idea of introducing the cheap meals deals over a period of months to try and tempt more people in helped to ensure he could carry on.