A pub owner who took a "risky gamble" worries about the "fight for survival" ahead of the winter months.
The Bard, located on Prescot High Street, opened back in 2018 as a Shakespeare inspired micropub. To coincide with the highly anticipated Shakespeare North Playhouse just a short walk away, the bar soon became a hit with the community and grew.
James Orford began working at the bar back in 2019 and when the opportunity rose for him to become a co-owner, along with Simon Harper, in December 2021 he said he jumped at it. However, he said it was a "risky gamble" and every since there is "one thing after another".
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Speaking to the ECHO, James - who returned to his hometown of Prescot from living abroad, said: "When the opportunity came up I thought it was worth the gamble, I was mindful at the time we were just coming out of the pandemic and it was a risky gamble. There were the rumblings of another lockdown but since then we have been taking over and surviving.
"We've got competition but businesses to this day are still recovering from covid and now the energy crisis, there's massive stories of debt and struggles and covid is still around. Yes, people are coming out and socialising more but there's hundreds and thousands of people still very anxious.
"A lot of businesses are still recovering from lockdown and imagine the amount leccy [electric] bills are going up which means beer prices will have to go up and customers soon won't have the money to come out, many don't have now."
Having recently put his own prices up to try and beat a "real struggle" in the coming months, James said he is determined the business will survive. He added: "I will survive, I'll make sure I do, I'll try my best. I knew it was a big risk and I need it to survive but it's not just us, other businesses are really struggling. The economy is being built up in Prescot, there's a lot of interest at the moment but if people are choosing between heating or eating, the working class are going to be massively impacted.
"We are alright at the moment but money is how the world works at the moment. A lot of people will struggle and all of this time and money has been invested in to Prescot for it to potentially decline again.
"It's not been the easiest of years, it's one thing after another. Covid, the situation in Ukraine, leccy bills, the queen dying. The government needs to step in and make their intentions clear to support businesses."
Despite the struggles, The Bard, previously shortlisted for Bar of the Year, has proved popular within the community with a real focus on craft beer and Shakespeare. From a "struggling" town, Prescot now has a "real buzz" and has previously been described as "underrated".
James added: "We are doing all we can, we still have hand sanitiser on the tables. It mainly comes down to helping people. Thousands are going to foodbanks and people are struggling, businesses are.
"Community is really strong with me, we are separated away location wise which can be seen as a disadvantage wise but people come in and have a chat and people can bring in their dogs, it's a real hub. I've been stressing about the future but sometimes you need to step back and from what I've heard others say about us it's all positive and that's a big thing for me.
"But something needs to be done now. It needs to be done yesterday. We are just hitting the post all the time, it's a fight to survive."
To find out more about The Bard, visit their Facebook Page.
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