A CONTROVERSIAL decision to stop children entering the bar of a Malvern village pub at night times has left visitors outraged with some claiming they may never go there again.
Several customers of the Brewers Arms in West Malvern have hit out at the move made by the pub’s new landlord Chris Tandy.
Initially the pub’s new boss decided to remove children at the bar during all times but following angry comments made they have since softened their stance by allowing youngsters to be in the area until 6pm.
Mr Tandy told The Observer he made the decision because he was losing ‘good customers’ with children often seen ‘running riot’ inside.
But he insisted they were welcome to use its The Hobbits Tea Room – situated adjacent to the pub – where they can read, watch TV and play.
The controversial decision comes just weeks after the new landlord set foot at the premises at the start of September, but one of his first decisions has drew strong criticism on Facebook.
Anna Fiddler said: “It’s highly unlikely there will be children in there after around 8pm anyway but having this curfew makes me feel unwelcome.
“Time to get walking that little bit further on to The Chase where we won’t have to worry about being thrown out for staying beyond any silly curfew.”
Andrew Palmer added: “The Brewers was the perfect pub for this. However, it is only a treat if you can relax and enjoy it. I would be on edge in case the dogs barked or one of the three kids behaved like a child. I will only spend my money somewhere I feel welcomed, not served through gritted teeth.”
But Anna Brook seemed more happy with the compromise. She said: “Thanks for the compromise Chris, which should mean most kids can enjoy the Brewers over the weekends too, and come up for Sunday lunches.
“The compromise will mean we can meet up with our friends with little ones now on Sunday’s for a walk and a bite of lunch after.”
Mr Tandy said the complaints have tarnished the start of his tenure as landlord at the pub.
“This is a small country pub and I was losing good customers because parents were allowing their children to run riot, screaming and running around,” he added.
“I was basically losing a lot of trade so I decided it was best not to let them in the bar.
“This then caused a lot of reaction on Facebook so as a compromise we are now letting well behaved children at the bar until 6pm. If this works well then we will look at extending that in the near future.
“We have a great Tea Room facility which is ideal for children and we plan to make further improvements as we go on.”
