A much loved community pub has closed its doors for good.
Husband and wife team Adam and Sue Franklin have been at the helm of the Horse & Jockey on Waddicar Lane in Melling for almost seven years. The pub gained a huge following by serving thousands of hot meals to people in need during the first national lockdown.
Adam told the ECHO: "When we got the pub it was a blot on the landscape. The whole business has been driven to be as family friendly as possible. We never ever thought we'd leave, we thought we'd be there until retirement. But you just can't fight billion pound companies."
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The Horse & Jockey was previously owned by Enterprise Inns, who Adam said the team had a "brilliant relationship" with. The group behind Enterprise was acquired by Stonegate, who owns the likes of Slug & Lettuce, for £1.27bn in March 2020.
Adam said he and Sue have been in "limbo for months and months" due to Stonegate's "aggressive" business strategy. They have even tried to surrender the lease numerous times.
Adam added: "They don't seem to be taking their responsibilities seriously. Their strategy seems to be let people fail and take the pubs back for nothing.
"They said if we wanted to surrender the lease they'd buy the fixtures and fittings. We've gone through all the official channels and now we're talking to the Pubs Code Adjudicator and getting our MP involved."
Looking forward, Adam and Sue have recently launched a new venture - Italian restaurant Alba. The couple have taken over the former Pear Tree pub on Prescot Road between Melling and Maghull.
Adam said the move was a no brainer: "We've wanted to do this concept for many years. There's been no redundancies and no one has missed a beat. All our local suppliers have supported us massively. It would have been heartbreaking to say goodbye.
"The Pear Tree was set to become a nursery or a shop so we grabbed a hold of it. We really trust Greene King.
"We had a choice - to support our new business and close the Jockey or try and keep them both open in a world where our landlord is putting as many obstacles in the way as possible. It's devastating. It's had a massive impact on us but we carry on."
During the first national Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, the Franklins provided thousands of hot meals from the Horse & Jockey to those in need, as well as recruiting volunteers to send out care packages, drop off medication and provide an ear to those who required support.
Their hard work was recognised with a Community Pub Hero Award last May and has now evolved into community cooking course Fedup.
Adam confirmed Alba will be the new home of Fedup and the couple's work with the community will continue. He said: "We've got courses now booked in for the next six months."
Posting on its Facebook page, the Horse & Jockey thanked its "lovely friends, supporters and community for an amazing six and a half years". It added that the pub would "reopen at some point in the future by Stonegate Managed Division".
Residents reached out to share their disappointment at the news of the closure and wish the family luck. Andrea Prendergast said: "Gutted to hear this as we’ve spent many a sunny day sitting outside with drinks and lots of amazing meals inside but looking forward to trying Alba."
Tony Carr said: "Thank you so much for all you’ve done for Melling and continue to do."
The ECHO has reached out to Stonegate for comment.
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