The Moorgate Kippax: Leeds pub to shut once again - just three months after it reopened
A village pub that reopened just three months ago following years of closure is to shut its doors once again.
The Moorgate, in Kippax, will close next Tuesday (April 29), its current managers have confirmed in a heartfelt statement.
It has been less than three months since the boozer, on Leeds Road, reopened to much excitement following a three-year closure.
The return was celebrated by residents, councillors and the constituency’s MP Keir Mather, who had called for the venue - owned by Samuel Smith’s Brewery - to reopen.
But despite a strong start, the current manager said in a statement: “It is with the greatest regret I have to tell you all that [The Moorgate] will be closing its doors again on Tuesday the 29th of April.”
It added: “Over the past two weeks I’ve tried my hardest to find a solution to keep the pub open with no avail. I would like to take a moment to thank each and everyone of our lovely customers for supporting The Moorgate. And to my staff that have moved mountains to help me in my hour of need!”
The statement concluded: “The Moorgate is readily available to manage, and if you are interested in becoming the new manager/managers please contact the page or Sam Smiths.
“The business is healthy, I just can’t do it all on my own. I wish this could have turned out differently and hope someone snaps up the opportunity to keep The Moorgate open after all we’ve done all the hard work for it to be open.”
When it reopened earlier this year, the pub was welcomed back as a “real community hub” by Coun Mary Harland, who previously ran the pub in the late 1980s.
Reacting to the closure announcement, Labour MP Mr Mather said: “It is terrible to hear that the Moorgate will be closing so soon after it opened its doors to the public.
“I’d like to say thank you to the team who did such a great job in getting the pub open. When I went to the Moorgate after its reopening, it was a lively, community pub which served local people in Kippax very well.
“The team’s hard work means that it looks like the business is healthy and ready to be taken on by new management. I’ll work with the community and the brewery in any way I can so the Moorgate can serve the people of Kippax again.”