Two more Dundee pubs, the Cask Bar in Albert Street and Sinatra’s in King Street, have called last orders.
Their demise follows the closure of The Snug in Church Street. The premises have been advertised for lease by the pubs’ parent company Rosemount Taverns Ltd.
The Cask has been promoted as, “a particularly attractive tenancy,” and “an easily run public house situated in a densely populated area on a busy main road close to the centre of Dundee.”
The Sinatra’s licensee Florence Hindmarch said she had not shut up shop for financial reasons, but declined to comment further.
Dundee City Council’s licensing committee convener Rod Wallace said pub closures were a “sign of the times.”
“In the current climate people are having to watch what they have to spend, any disposable income,” he said. “A lot of people are taking a short-term view on life. It’s a sign of the times.
“Going out for a drink doesn’t rate high on the agenda, especially where supermarkets are offering attractive deals for drinking at home.”
Mr Wallace praised the city’s Best Bar None scheme, whereby pubs must pass essential points in an assessment carried out by experts from the licensing authority as well as the area’s police force and fire service.
He said, “A lot of good pubs in the Best Bar None are offering their clients a special ambience.
“However, it’s hard to convince pubs to spend on refurbishment where they are not getting many through the doors.”
Dundee Licensed Trade Association president Colin Rattray has appealed for the government to help small pubs in the face of economic adversity.
“I don’t think anyone has put a price up in their bar in the past couple of years, while we’re paying more to suppliers, more for rates and minimum wages have risen,” he said.
“I think everyone’s campaigning to canvass the Scottish Government and national government to ask for help. We’re in the midst of the recession still and need help.”