A LONG-ESTABLISHED Edinburgh pub has suddenly closed its doors, leaving neighbours and customers baffled.
The Festival Tavern, on Morrison Street, shut earlier this month, with owners Punch Taverns refusing to explain the reason.
The operator instead said it was committed to reopening the pub and finding a new licensee as quickly as possible.
The
closure has concerned industry experts across the city, who believe such long- established, traditional watering holes are suffering in the current economic climate.
They believe that, as well as the obvious pressures the credit crunch is placing on all businesses nationwide, many older pubs have had a double blow and are still feeling the effects of the smoking ban, which, for many, crippled their trade.
Colin Wilkinson, secretary of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said it was imperative for the Capital that The Festival Tavern reopened its doors, ensuring such long-serving attractions still have a place in the city.
The pub is not only popular with local residents and workers, but is a hive of activity during the busy festival period.
He said: "We have to keep these traditional pubs in Edinburgh or we are going to lose a big part of our heritage."
The Festival Tavern is popular with business workers – many of them from the nearby Scottish Widows offices.
A padlock on the main door is the only visible sign that The Festival Tavern is not open for business.
Its windows are still adorned with posters advertising events at the pub and a blackboard showcasing lunchtime specials still stands in the beer garden – an area that is usually heaving with customers.
A spokesman for Punch Taverns said the circumstances surrounding the sudden closure were "confidential".
He added: "Our priority is to get The Festival Tavern open for trade and serving the local community as soon as possible.
"We are actively recruiting a new licensee to run this great pub for us and we are currently talking to a number of interested parties."
The full article contains 340 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
