Shock as a well-known Dudley rock music pub closes suddenly as hundreds sign a petition calling for it to be reopened
Almost 1,500 people have signed a petition calling for the reopening of a well-known Black Country music venue after it was closed by a pub company.
Ye Olde Foundry in King Street, Dudley, was ordered to shut by Stonegate Pub Company after licensee Jake Hall was 'fined' £40,000 for buying drinks from an independent wholesaler.
But Mr Hall lambasted the pub company, saying the terms it imposed made the pub impossible to run, charging £64 for a bottle of whisky that cost £19 in the supermarket.
Mr Hall took over the pub, famous for its rock music nights, in September 2023, initially on a 12-month temporary agreement, where the rent and beer prices were manageable.
"As soon as I signed the five-year lease, the rent skyrocketed and the purchase prices went through the roof," he said.
"For example, a bottle of Jack Daniel's from Tesco is £19, from Stonegate direct, it is £64.
"In our third year, we had to start buying stock from wholesalers just to keep costs down and keep trading, solely due to the rising cost of bills."
Mr Hall said Stonegate began carrying out random checks, and 'fined' the pub £40,000 for buying outside stock.
"We have gone back and forth with solicitors regarding price fixing, but to no avail, and I have now run out of time," said Mr Hall.
Mr Hall said is was the fifth pub to close in Dudley in the past 60 days.
He said the company had tried to sell the building on numerous occasions, and had also expressed an interest in converting it into one of its Craft Union-branded pubs.
"I believe they must finally have a buyer, as they revoked the license immediately rather than giving me notice," said Mr Hall.
"When I pleaded with the area manager for just one more weekend to sell off the remaining stock, the direct response was: 'You can just take it to your solicitors to appeal.'
"Since taking over in September, we were always under the impression that Stonegate didn't want this pub. We are on our sixth area manager, we have been repeatedly ignored via email and phone, and we are the only pub not listed on the Stonegate website."
Mr Hall said he took on the pub because he had been drinking there for since 2005 and didn't want to see it close as a rock venue, while business partner Diane Rogers had been a customer since the 1980s.
A petition has been launched on the Change.org website by Rhys Jones, calling for the venue to be reopened, and for Stonegate to change its terms and conditions to make such pubs viable. So far almost 1,500 people have signed it, with some observing that it was Dudley's last remaining rock-music venue since JB's nightclub had closed.
Alison Hart, public relations manager for Stonegate, said the pub had temporarily ceased trading.
"Due to ongoing legal proceedings, it would not be appropriate to comment further on the specific circumstances,” she said.
The pub opened in the 1930s as The Coach and Horses, and was briefly known as The Old Vic following a 1987 revamp, before being renamed Ye Olde Foundry in the 1990s.
