The Tap & Kitchen and Mr Foleys in Leeds as well as the Last Drop Inn, in York, closed last week with “immediate effect”. The company’s other outlets remain unaffected.
Black Sheep stated the closures were a result of the sites not returning to pre-covid levels of trade and would mean a “small number of redundancies” with the company’s retail arm at the head office in Masham.
A statement from the company said it was “committed to the growth of the retail estate” and would be seeking “profitable outlets that complement the Black Sheep brand and ethos”.
Eternally grateful
The firm added it was “grateful to the staff at all the pubs” and praised their “extremely hard work over recent years”.
Dated Friday 30 June, a post on the Drop Inn’s Facebook page said: “We would like to thank all of our loyal Black Sheep customers for your support over the last couple of years. Our sister site, The Three Legged Mare will remain open
“We are beyond upset. Our little pub, that we built from a shell of a building, has to close.
“We had no idea this was happening and so, we had no way of saying goodbye to our amazing, lovely customers, who have helped shape this building from a pub into a community.
“I’m eternally grateful to Black Sheep Brewery for taking me on and for allowing me to bring my family to this pub as well.
“That brings me to the staff. Every single person we have hired has made this place what it is, being past or present staff members.
“You’ve all been amazing and I hope that wherever we go next, I sincerely hope you’ll join us.
“Thank you once again to every human being that has been close to The Last Drop Inn. I will really miss our little pub, and I know that plenty of you will miss it too.”
Last resort
Earlier this year, the brewery, its shop and pubs were acquired by lending and advisory firm Breal Group after a “strategic review” to explore funding options to take the business forward amid prevailing economic conditions.
Following the acquisition, Black Sheep, which was founded in 1992 and employed some 150 people at the time of procurement, became Black Sheep Brewing Company Limited, trading as Black Sheep Brewery.
A spokesperson for Black Sheep said: “Having recently conducted an extensive review of our business, we have explored every angle to try to keep these locations trading profitably, but without success.
“Unfortunately, the only avenue left for us was the closure of these premises. It is always the last resort for us to make redundancies, and we are saddened to see such dedicated colleagues leaving us, at this time.”
