Wetherspoon to close popular seafront pub

The Quay, the seafront pub in the historic Poole Old Town, will close its doors for good once the site has been sold off. 

Trading from a Grade II listed five-storey building, Wetherspoon took over the former warehouse in 1996. 

An exact closing date is still unknown and the firm would not go into detail about why it is closing the branch. 

Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said: “The Quay pub is to go on the market.  Wetherspoon does, on occasion, put some of its pubs up for sale, and this is the case here. 

“The pub will continue to trade until it is sold.” 

Pubgoers in Poole were left disappointed by the news. 

Tony Vickerstaff, 60, said it will be a “real shame” to see the pub close, which he uses to get his mother out of her house. 

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The Bournemouth resident said: “It’s a shock; it’s so popular in there and always so busy, even now. I love it here because you can look out at the boats and last Sunday, you couldn’t get a seat. 

“It’s a brilliant place to come for a cheap meal – a breakfast is just £5 - and a hot drink for £1.50 which can be refilled.” 

He added: “My mum’s 82 years old and some of the other customers are older and they can communicate with each other and say hello.”  

Read more: Punters rally against closure of Wetherspoon pub in Ferndown

Jim McDonald, a retired NHS worker from Poole, said: “Pubs are pubs. I prefer to go to Canford Cliffs as you’re away from the kids, the drunks and the more unpleasant people. 

“But prices are a big deal now in this economy, but I prefer quality over quantity.” 

Patricia Sage, 79, was part of a coach trip which had stopped in Poole from Weymouth and described it as “disappointing”. 

She said: “We need Wetherspoons because we can all go and sit in there and there is no loud music blaring out, and it’s one of few places you can comfortably sit alone by yourself. 

“But it’s also good value for money and you can get a hot drink and refill it.” 

Cecelia Clements, 82, also on a coach trip down from Luton, added: “I travel around the country a lot and I won’t go into a restaurant alone, but I can sit in a Wetherspoons. 

“It would be very sad if it were to close.”  

John Jones, visiting from Stoke with his friend, added: “It’s February and it’s pretty full. I think they are all good, Wetherspoons pubs, and you always know what you are going to get.” 

Another resident called Roy added: “Once these institutions make their mind up on something that’s it.”