So far, the 2020s have been wild – and not in a good way. For a good portion of the past two years, we’ve faced a global pandemic – a first for many of us in our lives.

While it’s been inconvenient to not be able to travel or work in an office or anything like that, COVID-19 has had a particularly devastating impact on the hospitality sector. Many restaurants and businesses have really felt the effects of being shut down for the best part of two years – especially smaller, locally-owned restaurants and bars.

Photo: Pixabay/Queven

It wasn’t just the newer eateries that felt the sting, it also affected ones that had been in business for years. Sadly, over the last two years, we’ve seen many restaurants and bars become victims of the pandemic, shutting their doors because it’s no longer feasible to keep them running.

In England, shock came when Ye Olde Fighting Cocks in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, announced that they would be closing their doors.

The pub is the oldest pub in England – and probably the whole of the UK – and was founded back in 793 A.D., although it might be even older than that. While the current facade of the building was built back in the 11th century, it still carries a lot of history within its walls.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The pub was originally called The Round House and Three Pigeons, as the octagonal building had previously been used as a pigeon house. Then, it went on to be a place where cockfights were held prior to the blood sport being outlawed in England.

Since it was a place of cockfighting, that is how the pub got its current name back in the 1800s. The pub is also rumored to have been where Oliver Cromwell stayed during the English Civil War. The pub was also once certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest in England, however, that title was later revoked in 2000 because the claims could not be definitively verified.

Still, the pub dates back to the Middle Ages, but even with its ability to have survived since then, it was unable to survive the loss of income perpetuated by the COVID-19 pandemic. On the 4th of February, the pub’s owner wrote the heartbreaking announcement on Facebook: “It is with great sadness that I have to announce that today, after a sustained period of extremely challenging trading conditions, YOFC Ltd has gone into administration.”

Photo: flickr/Mark Crombie

The pub’s owner, Christo Tofalli, added, “Along with my team, I have tried everything to keep the pub going. However, the past two years have been unprecedented for the hospitality industry, and have defeated all of us who have been trying our hardest to ensure this multi-award-winning pub could continue trading into the future.”

The owner shared that conditions were already tough prior to the pandemic due to higher rates and taxes. However, the business had mapped out a five-year plan and was managing to put it into place. But then COVID-19 came along and messed up the plans.

The owner wrote, “However the Covid-19 pandemic was devastating and our already tight profit margins gave us no safety net. This resulted in us being unable to meet our financial obligations as they were due, creating periods of great uncertainty and stress for all who worked for, and with, the pub. It goes without saying I am heartbroken: this pub has been so much more than just a business to me, and I feel honoured to have played even a small part in its history. I am even more heartbroken for my incredible team and the wider Fighting Cocks family.”

https://www.facebook.com/YeOldeFightingCocks/posts/4651473991569177

While the community rallied behind the pub, Christie refused to accept money to keep it open. Instead, she sold it.

The property was purchased by U.K. pub group Mitchells and Butlers, who shared with the BBC that they have a plan to keep it going with a new team, something that Tofalli seemingly confirmed with another comment on Facebook, “I’m working hard with the administrator to lessen the impact of our closure and get the pub back open again as soon as possible.”

Hopefully Ye Old Fighting Cocks can make it past this hurdle under new ownership!