Closed Shop pub Sheffield: Pub owner confirms date for new operator to take over Commonside local

The Closed Shop, on Commonside, near Crookes, has been closed since late May, after Stancil Brewery’s lease on the venue came to an end. But the owner, Star pubs, said it planned to reopen the venue later in the summer.

A spokesman for owners Star Pubs said the update they now have is that the new operator looks set to go into The Closed Shop on July 17. But they added “At this stage I can’t confirm if the pub will reopen that day, it depends on the operator’s plans.”

For the last six years, the pub has been run by Stancil, during which time it had been well known for real ale beers, brewed in Sheffield by what is a locally based brewery, which also operates the Albion pub, near Bramall Lane.

There had been rumours locally that it was going to be taken over by Wetherspoons, which the giant pub chain has denied.

It is the latest boost for pubs in the city. This week, Samuel Smith brewery, which owns The Brown Bear on Norfolk Street in the city centre, confirmed that the pub would be reopening next month, after drinkers discovered last week that the popular venue, one of the oldest in the city, had been closed, after its previous landlord left.

Officials at Samuel Smith say there has been a national shortage of staff in the pub industry since the pandemic, but they hope to reopen more venues.