A PUB chain with almost 1,600 boozers has announced plans to close one of its branches and locals have been left stunned.
The Beacon in Basingstoke, run by Greene King, called last orders for the final time on November 12.
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In a statement on Facebook, the pub said it had made the “difficult decision” to close the popular drinking hole with immediate effect.
It read: “We appreciate that this is disappointing news to the local community and our loyal customers, and we would like to thank each of them who have enjoyed visiting us over the years.
“We are continuing to work with our team to find alternative roles at our other pubs in the local area where possible and any customers that have bookings with us will be contacted in due course and offered a refund or alternative booking at one of our other pubs in the area.”
The pub had originally been set to shut at the end of November, so news of the earlier closure shocked the local community.
Many fans took to social media to share their opinions.
Commenting on the Facebook post, one fan said: “This is harsh. We wanted one last meal in there.”
Another fumed: “No way!!! My girls are going to be gutted. Was going to bring them in for their favourite meals next week.”
A third added: “This is unbelievable!!”
Another said: “This sucks! Was going to go for one last drink on the last weekend of November!!”
And a fourth wrote: “Absolutely gutted Greene King have done this and we were only in there yesterday.”
“Will miss all the lovely staff and delicious meals and will miss just being at The Beacon.”
The Sun has contacted Greene King for comment.
The pub chain, which has more than 1,600 branches across the country, is also pulling the shutters down on another branch this month.
A spokesperson for the chain confirmed that The Manor House in Portsmouth will close, but did not reveal which date.
It comes as a number of UK pubs close their doors for good amid a turbulent economic backdrop.
Inflation remains stubbornly high meaning households have less expendable cash to burn.
Increased energy and wage costs are piling further pressure on businesses.
Ten thousand pubs are at risk of closing if the sector is hit by a £1billion tax blow, hospitality chiefs have warned.
They say one in ten boozers could go out of business if the Chancellor fails to extend business rates relief in his Autumn Statement.
The grim alert comes as The Sun launches a Save Our Sups campaign to protect the great British boozer.
Earlier this month, Wetherspoon’s boss Tim Martin said the business “continues to perform well”.
But the chain has closed 34 pubs in the last 18 months and has also put 27 more up for sale in the last year – 10 of which are under offer.
Stonegate, the group which runs Yate’s and Slug and Lettuce pubs, has also sparked fury by hiking the price of drinks from 5pm to 7pm to offset rising operational costs.
The “dynamic pricing” strategy has seen some punters charged £7.60 instead of £7.05 at peak times.
Retailers on the high street have been hit hard too.
Cath Kidston, Paperchase, M&Co and popular discounter Wilko have all crashed into administration this year.
Wilko has since announced plans to return to the high street, with branches in Plymouth, Exeter and Luton set to open within weeks.
On Monday, Paperchase reopened inside 250 Tesco supermarkets in June M&Co relaunched online.
A number of retailers have been opening branches as well as closing them too.
In July, B&M announced plans to open seven new branches in the UK over the following weeks.
Bargain discounter Poundland is taking on former Wilko sites as well.
And The Cornish Bakery said in September it would be looking to open five new stores over the following months.
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