News / gloucester road
Pret could replace pub
A pub that for many years was synonymous with Bristol Rovers fans could become a cafe.
The Queen Vic on Gloucester Road was often the location for pre-match drinking and post-match celebrations for Gasheads.
But it has been closed since 2017 and is now likely to become a Pret A Manger.
is needed now More than ever
From pub to Pret – image: Motor Fuel Group
An application submitted to Bristol City Council is for an illuminated sign replacing the current pub sign which remains hanging outside.
The application is from St Alban’s-based Motor Fuel Group, who have previously said that the site was no longer viable as a pub.
But in 2021 when Greggs were keen to take on the building, Glen Dawkins of the Dawkins group of pubs – which include the Miners Arms in St Werburgh’s and the Victoria in Clifton – said that “this site is clearly viable as a pub – a true community asset”.
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Read more: Ten country pubs near Bristol to escape to this summer
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“The vibrant local area (of which pubs are a key part) is in great demand from leisure operators and several properties have quickly changed hands in recent times,” wrote Dawkins.
“I cannot recall this property being marketed as a pub via any of the established routes potential (publicans) would look at.
“The Gloucester Road has a well-earned reputation as a haven for independent shops and businesses, defying the High Street gloom elsewhere.
“It would be a pity to both lose this as a pub with replacement by a national, branded operator where the profits end up far away from the local area.”
Pret currently has several branches in Bristol, including on Victoria Street, Baldwin Street and Cabot Circus.
Meanwhile, Wetherspoons remain committed to opening a pub in a former shop on Gloucester Road just a few hundred yards away from the proposed Pret, despite almost 250 objections.
Main photo: Martin Booth
Read more: What are Bristol’s best pubs and bars?
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