Smoking ban may cause pub to close
Smoking ban may cause pub to close
A TRADITIONAL pub in Redhill may be forced to close because the smoking ban has slashed trade by half.
Landlady of The Crown, in Nutfield, Sharon Murphy, has told the Surrey Mirror that the pub has lost half of its takings since the beginning of July when the ban was introduced.
The 46-year-old added: "I'm not even close to my targets. I used to make somewhere between £2,000 and £2,500 a week, but now its less than £1,000."
"I'm extremely worried about my job - if my takings are the same this week as last, I don't think we will survive longer than a month.
"If it has to close it will be very ,very sad - I've put everything into it and to lose it would be like losing a piece of myself."
Sharon said the loss of business means it is impossible for the pub to afford new shelters for smoking customers, or even cover costs in running entertainment at the pub, such as hosting a band.
Her 20-year-old son, Chris, who works at the bar five days a week said: "Ninety per cent of our customers are smokers and they just don't stay as long - instead of having two or three pints and a smoke they just have the one and leave."
Chris said The Crown has been closing early for the past few days because the smoking ban has killed trade.
"We could lose our jobs over this - it's really bad. We're both really stressed about things and it's not good for either of us."
Chris, who is a smoker, finds he cannot take cigarette breaks if there are customers in the pub because he is not allowed to leave the bar unmanned.
Sharon Murphy said she owes it to the customers to stay optimistic for the future and hopes things will improve once the ban has settled down, but remains angry at the Government for implementing an ill-thought out ban that has wrecked her business.
"I can't see any other reason why I've lost the trade that I have and the funny thing is the one bar you can smoke in is in the Houses of Parliament."
A TRADITIONAL pub in Redhill may be forced to close because the smoking ban has slashed trade by half.
Landlady of The Crown, in Nutfield, Sharon Murphy, has told the Surrey Mirror that the pub has lost half of its takings since the beginning of July when the ban was introduced.
The 46-year-old added: "I'm not even close to my targets. I used to make somewhere between £2,000 and £2,500 a week, but now its less than £1,000."
"I'm extremely worried about my job - if my takings are the same this week as last, I don't think we will survive longer than a month.
"If it has to close it will be very ,very sad - I've put everything into it and to lose it would be like losing a piece of myself."
Sharon said the loss of business means it is impossible for the pub to afford new shelters for smoking customers, or even cover costs in running entertainment at the pub, such as hosting a band.
Her 20-year-old son, Chris, who works at the bar five days a week said: "Ninety per cent of our customers are smokers and they just don't stay as long - instead of having two or three pints and a smoke they just have the one and leave."
Chris said The Crown has been closing early for the past few days because the smoking ban has killed trade.
"We could lose our jobs over this - it's really bad. We're both really stressed about things and it's not good for either of us."
Chris, who is a smoker, finds he cannot take cigarette breaks if there are customers in the pub because he is not allowed to leave the bar unmanned.
Sharon Murphy said she owes it to the customers to stay optimistic for the future and hopes things will improve once the ban has settled down, but remains angry at the Government for implementing an ill-thought out ban that has wrecked her business.
"I can't see any other reason why I've lost the trade that I have and the funny thing is the one bar you can smoke in is in the Houses of Parliament."
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