The Green Dragon, located on the city's waterside, has claimed rising costs from Lincolnshire Co-op has led to the closure of the pub.
The pub’s locals, who have heaped praise on the licensee, reacted angrily to the news amid fears for dwindling numbers of pubs in the area.
'Inflexibility'
A Spokesman for the Green Dragon said: “We regret to inform that the Green Dragon is now closed. Rising costs and inflexibility of the pubs Landlords Lincoln Co-Op has led to the pub and restaurant closing down.
“We thank all our loyal customers for their support and are doing our best to re-locate any staff from the business. If you are looking for bar or restaurant staff in the Lincoln area please get in touch and we will pass details on to you.”
Reacting to the news on social media, customers raised fears Co-op was set to ‘monopolise’ the area and leave them without their beloved local pub.
Co-op
A spokesperson for Lincolnshire Co-op said: “We work with our tenants because we want their businesses to succeed.
“We also try to let to smaller operators where possible to give local people the chance to build businesses.
“The majority of our tenants run successful operations. However, on occasion there are repeated issues which can’t be satisfactorily resolved.
“It’s not appropriate to comment publicly on individual cases but we don’t take the decision to terminate a lease without good cause.”
Customers
Customers took the the pub’s Facebook to vent their frustration with the venue’s closure.
Tom Devlin claimed he was also forced out of business by Co-op four years ago, and described the company as ‘ruthless’.
Justin Hussey said the pub served ‘the best Sunday lunch’, while Tracie Marie Pickard said it was ‘sad, shocking news’. “Greedy landlords will be the death of the Great British Pub,” she added.
Shaz Wright speculated that ‘soon there will be no more’, and Sheila Mary Conlon added: “Hope it’s not demolished like a lot of others have been.”