March 18, 2019 1.24 pm This story is over 59 months old

Last orders at Lincoln’s smallest pub?

Could it be saved?

Award-winning Hop & Barley, Lincoln’s first micro pub, appears to have closed its doors despite a final fundraising push.

Owner Steve Marston had taken to a crowdfunding website to rally £2,000 of support in the hope of keeping the beer flowing.

He had explained low footfall in recent months meant the business was struggling to keep up with overheads.

“We are in crisis,” he said at the time.

His was not the only plea. A special feature in The Lincolnite‘s Business Week newsletter looked at three independent businesses facing turbulent trading conditions.

Now, the Hop & Barley Facebook and fundraising pages have been removed. There are no signs on the High Street premises on Monday, March 18, but the blind are down and the glass door painted out.

Reporters were not able to reach anyone at the business.

The pub on lower High Street has been pulling pints for just under three years and holds about 30 people.

It was opened on a shoestring budget ‘for a bit of fun’, but became especially popular during Lincoln City match days.

In 2018, the pub joined the ranks of Lincolnshire’s most loved venues on the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Good Beer Guide.

We checked out the pub in 2018. Steve Marston told reporters of ambitions to install a microbrewery at the back of the venue to produce house beers.


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