Last night Russ spoke to one of the owners, Steve, who confirmed that they are trying to sell the pub. There is indeed an offer and dates on the table, but they haven't completed on a sale yet.
The Wenlock will be open for business until the sale goes through. I think anyone who has ever bought a house knows that it's hard to put dates on these things. Steve said it might not even be until the new year. From what I've heard, the bar staff are gloomier about it than the owners (no surprises there - they don't get the cash!), which I'd wager is why they told us October/November - which is now looking like the worst case scenario.
(Can we just take ten seconds to reflect on the week we had, and how odd it is that the Wenlock "about to be sold to developers at some point between now and the new year" now looks like good news).
But anyway, I think this is a definite chink of light and hopefully buys us a bit of time to convince people of the value of the Wenlock as a pub.
So. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is about making as much noise as possible. It's about letting the world know how important the Wenlock is as a pub. As I said on Londonist yesterday, it may be that the developers haven't realised that it's not just any old scruffy boozer. It's about letting them know how important the Wenlock is as a pub, and how valuable it could be as a going concern (it is, after all, an amazing "brand")... and also letting anyone who might be interested in taking over the running of it have the chance of getting their act together.
This is a reason to step up the fight, though - not to rest on our laurels. I've received hundreds of amazing messages of support and will be posting them onto the blog over this weekend. I've had emails from from Hackney to Italy to Indonesia. How many other pubs could inspire such dedication? You're really something, the Wenlock Arms.
So. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is about making as much noise as possible. It's about letting the world know how important the Wenlock is as a pub. As I said on Londonist yesterday, it may be that the developers haven't realised that it's not just any old scruffy boozer. It's about letting them know how important the Wenlock is as a pub, and how valuable it could be as a going concern (it is, after all, an amazing "brand")... and also letting anyone who might be interested in taking over the running of it have the chance of getting their act together.
This is a reason to step up the fight, though - not to rest on our laurels. I've received hundreds of amazing messages of support and will be posting them onto the blog over this weekend. I've had emails from from Hackney to Italy to Indonesia. How many other pubs could inspire such dedication? You're really something, the Wenlock Arms.
So keep up the fight. This is the best pub in London and it deserves to stay a pub. Russ said the owners want it to stay a pub too, for what it's worth.
Should we do a petition too? What do you think?
