Hundreds of locals have rallied around the owners of a beloved pub who could be out of the community boozer this week after their short tenure abruptly ended. Darren and Susie Harris-Hughes left their life behind in Liverpool to transform the Stag Inn in July, which has since been dubbed the "heart" of the village of Cemaes, Wales. Suzie said they devoted all of their time to the pub and were shocked when they received a week's notice with Marston’s Brewery to quit the boozer.
Speaking about the shock announcement, she said: “We sold our three-bedroom semi in Liverpool to move into a flat above the pub. It was in need of renovation, which we paid for ourselves. My husband gave up his business as a decorator and, to support him at the pub, I left my senior leadership role in the care sector. It’s a fabulous community in Cemaes and we had a great reception. What’s happened since is beyond belief and we are determined to fight it all the way.”.
The news angered regulars with customers vowing to boycott the pub and hold a protest outside. Dismayed villagers say Darren and Susie had “turned around” the pub in the five months since they sold their house to move to Anglesey. Within 24 hours of an online petition being launched, demanding Marston’s reconsider its decision, over 500 people had signed up – nearly a third of the village’s population.
Marston’s has been left baffled by the furore as it is understood the brewery believes the week-long notice period was mutually agreed. But Darren and Susie felt the decision was ”abrupt” and had come as a complete “shock”. According to the couple, grievances centred on the pub’s monthly stock takes, which revealed apparent discrepancies that left them mystified. Marston’s is believed to have attributed the dispute to a breakdown in working relationships unrelated to recent stock check results, reports North Wales Live.
