The Wharf at Atlantic Wharf is the latest Cardiff pub to close as Brains confirmed its sale was a "last resort"
Another Cardiff pub is getting ready to call last orders after its owners confirmed it would close.
The shutting of The Wharf, next to East Bute Dock in Atlantic Wharf, is the latest in a series of announced closures of pubs in the capital.
Earlier this week brewery Greene King said it was ending its lease of the Corporation pub in Canton . A date has not yet been set for its closure.
'A last resort'
Brewers SA Brain said it had decided to sell off the waterfront Wharf pub, in Schooner Way in Cardiff Bay, which will close in June because of its lack of “long-term viability”.
Brains chief executive Scott Waddington said: “Having reviewed the long-term options for the site over the past year, I can confirm that we exchanged contracts with JR Smart to sell The Wharf.
“Closing one of our businesses is always a last resort, however, having reviewed the long-term viability of the location, in such close proximity to Cardiff city centre and Cardiff Bay , we took the decision to sell and focus our efforts on the many outstanding Brains businesses we still own.
“We are sorry to lose The Wharf from our estate and thank the loyal customers who have enjoyed a pint of Brains and food in the pub over the years.
“We very much hope they will continue to visit the Wharf, until we close the doors for the last time at the end of June.”
Rick Zaple, chairman of the Cardiff branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) said he was saddened by the news of the Wharf, which was built in 1990 on what he described as a “fantastic site” next to the dock.
Read more: Cardiff pub Poets Corner closes as Camra warn people to use their pubs or lose them forever
'Whole communities losing their pubs'
Speaking about the spate of recent pub closures in the capital, Mr Zaple added: “Cardiff city centre is doing well, but not the suburban areas. There are whole communities in Cardiff, such as Grangetown, which are losing their pubs.
“We accept some pubs will close and some will open but some companies sometimes don’t make that much of an effort to keep them open.
“In some better-off areas, and where pubs can do things such as imaginative food, it’s perhaps not the case. Cathedral Road is an example.
“But in areas such as Roath and Grangetown there are a lot of closures.”
Nick Newman, chairman of the Cardiff Licensees’ Forum, said the changing dynamics of the industry was a result of customers voting with their feet.
“When they are historical buildings at the centre of communities it is sad, but it’s also a reflection of the way we are living,” he said.
“There are new businesses opening and there’s a market dynamic going on as well. This is a reflection of the fact that people don’t go to some of these places any more. But other traditional pubs continue to flourish.”
'Not all doom and gloom'
Beer writer Arfur Daley said that while some traditional pubs were closing, new establishments such as Zero Degrees, Brewdog and Urban Tap House were opening up.
“It’s not all doom and gloom,” he added. “Ten years ago the situation was much worse in Cardiff and it looked as if no one wanted to open new places at all.
“You will always have openings and closings of pubs – it just seems to be a different type of pub that people are starting to go to.”
Some of the other pubs in Cardiff where closures have been announced in the last 12 months
• The Corporation, Canton
• The Westgate, Riverside
• The Grange, Grangetown
• The Poets Corner, Roath
• The Canadian, Adamsdown
• The Duke of Clarence, Canton
see-http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/another-cardiff-pub-gets-set-11028845
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