A pub in Nottinghamshire is selling beer at prices that the local MP reckons could be the cheapest in the UK. The landlord of the New Cross in Sutton-in-Ashfield said he is able to keep the cost down because he owns the free house, which means he isn't tied to any particular brewery.
Prices start at £2.50 for a pint of Coors, Carling and Caffrey's. John Smith's and a pint of mild are £2.65 and Foster's is £2.70. Stella Artois comes in at £3.20, the same as Guinness.
Drinkers pay £2.90 for a pint of Madri, which at some pubs costs over £4. There's more unbeatable value with Sharp's Cold River Cider just £2.30.
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Pub owner Shinto Mathew, who locals know as 'Mathew', said he'd rather have a busy pub and a lower profit margin than be making more money and an empty pub. He said: "My strategy is the shop keeper way to have more people in. I could put another 50p on the top and have ten people or not put 50p on and have 30 people in and that makes more money.
"People are in here enjoying themselves, it's good for the community. Carling is our main seller. Even my local Wetherspoon's I think charge around £2.80. The previous Wetherspoon's manager in 2019 was talking to me when it when it was £2.65 there and I was £2.30. There's a reasonable margin in there because I'm a free house so I've never been a greedy, greedy guy."
Mr Mathew, who also owns an off-licence and convenience shop opposite the pub in Outram Street, Sutton-in-Ashfield, said: "I'm a shopkeeper so we've been working on low margins. On our side of the bar if you put the price up it's easier but you need to think about the customer side. Can they afford it, especially now this year?"
Unsurprisingly the pub was packed Friday, Saturday and Sunday. "It was ever so busy," said Mr Mathew. "People can get together in the community and it's not that expensive. People are surprised about the price. Madri is normally £4 in most of the pubs, £3.80 is the cheapest one I've seen but I do it at £2.90."
It's not just lager and beer that's cheaper. Wine and spirits are very reasonably priced too, with a double vodka costing £3.50. Mr Mathew said: "Because I'm a shopkeeper I get a good deal for alcohol from my local cash and carry. Every alcohol I get they are cheaper than from the brewery. There's £8 difference on a bottle of Smirnoff and I can claim VAT back.
"I'm a free house so I can buy from anywhere - that's another reason we are cheaper. Strangers come in from outside of Nottingham and they say are you really selling at this price?"
The New Cross is frequented by Ashfield's Conservative MP Lee Anderson, who recently tweeted a video of Mr Mathew running through the prices, at what he called "a good drinking haunt of mine". The MP said: "The beer in one of my favourite pubs in the whole of the UK is so cheap. Can you beat this?"
Mr Mathew bought the New Cross in 2013 and more recently took over the Rifle Volunteer in Skegby, where locals had campaigned against it being turned into a shop after its closure. Only a mile away, he was worried that it would take custom away from New Cross but it hasn't happened and both pubs are doing well.
Mr Mathew said he is trying to keep prices as they are - but with his gas and electricity price tripling and prices set to rise again, he said he may have to have a rethink. Across the border in Derbyshire, a Long Eaton drinker complained that he had been charged £3.90 for a pint of Carling and caused an outcry when he urged others on a Spotted Facebook page to "name and shame" expensive pubs.
Amanda Jones, landlady of the Sportsman and Wilsthorpe Tavern in the town, said drinkers don't consider the overheads and rising energy prices. She said: "People don’t see everything pubs and other businesses are going through right now, like it’s not stressful enough without people making these comments, very worrying times for everyone!"
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