A well-known and popular pub, The Propeller Inn, has said it has closed its doors until further notice whilst the owners mourn a family member, but the closure comes just days after Island Echo asked about rumoured redundancies.
The East Wight pub took to Facebook on Friday, where it was announced that due to a ‘close family bereavement’, the Bembridge Airport-based pub would be closed for the foreseeable future.
However, speculation over the establishment’s future had already begun building some 2 weeks beforehand, when Island Echo approached the managers, Roxanne Nicholson and Richard Strickland, for a statement regarding rumoured staff redundancies.
Despite Island Echo giving them opportunity to issue a statement, the message was read and received, but no reply was given. A subsequent phone call led to a member of staff stating they had no knowledge of the rumours and that there was no member of the leadership team present to speak to at that time.
The day before announcing their sudden closure, patrons took to the Bembridge Community Noticeboard on Facebook to voice concerns. It was said that a table of 8 had booked in for lunch at 12:30 on 10th September, but when they arrived they found the pub was closed.
Others took to the comments, discussing the mixed messages they had received before the closure. One person who regularly attends the venue said they were told the previous week that the pub would be closed for a few weeks whilst ‘refurbishment works’ take place.
Another reinforced the narrative that they are closed for renovations, stating she too was told by staff the previous week that they would be closed from 7th September onwards.
The Propeller Inn’s website has since been locked down, stating ‘closed until further notice’ when trying to access it.
According to public records on Companies House, Roxanne Nicholson resigned from her role as director and transferred all of her shares to Richard Strickland on 19th July this year.
