Time called on Kettering pub as energy costs soar

A Kettering pub is preparing to call last orders for the final time after soaring energy costs meant it wasn’t viable to stay open.

The Three Cocks in Lower Street – believed to be the only owner-run pub in the town – will close its doors on September 11.

Rob Seymour and his partner Andrea Barham have been behind the bar since it re-opened in 2012 after a refurbishment.

But after facing the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, increases in the price of beer and now sky-high energy bills they’ve decided to call it a day.

Rob, 64, said: "We have been beaten by circumstances.”

The venue, which is not affiliated to a brewery, has been in the Good Beer Guide for 10 years in a row and was once named a Camra (Campaign for Real Ale) pub of the season.

They have cut their hours and staff – with only Rob and Andrea currently working there – but the pub has not seen trade fully pick up since the Covid lockdowns were lifted.

And now their electricity bills, which have recently risen by about 450 per cent, are swallowing up their profit. Unlike domestic properties, businesses are not covered by the energy price cap.

Rob said: “It’s just not going to be viable.”

The community pub focuses on real ales from breweries including Oakham Ales in Peterborough, The Grainstore Brewery in Oakham and Full Mash in Stapleford near Nottingham, and does not sell usual suspects such as Stella Artois, Guinness or Strongbow.

It has held many a beer festival, has skittles and darts and has raised more than £5,000 for Johnny’s Happy Place in Kettering.

Rob, who recently recovered from falling down the pub’s cellar, added: "Andrea is really sad for people that we know here. For some this is the only place they come.”

The pub had outline discussions with council officers during the first Covid lockdown about turning it into a micropub with flats, but the plan didn’t progress.

They thanked people for their support over the past decade and Rob said anyone who wants to take it on can buy it from them.