Staff at a 385-year-old pub are protesting rising utility bills as they say they will have to start charging £20 a pint just to breakeven.

The Trigger Pond pub, in Bucknell Village, just outside Bicester, is holding a weekly protest – every Thursday, beginning on September 15 – where it will turn its lights off and invite customers to dine by candlelight.

The aim is to spark a movement within the hospitality industry and encourage other pubs and restaurants to do the same thing.

Oxford Mail:

Despite being a serious protest against rising utility costs, the pub will have an acoustic music set in place and be serving a selection of its favourite dishes, including fish and chips and prawn linguine.

The pub is owned by Jo Dyer, who is helped in the day-to-day running by her sister Charlotte Evans.

Ms Evans said: “My sister and I have had such a tough time over the last few years.

“First the pub suffered because of the lockdowns, then, my best friend and my sister’s life partner Harwood, died of a stroke suddenly last year.

Read more: Woman pushed to ground during cashpoint robbery

“We’ve had a horrendous time trying to keep the pub afloat.

“And now, with the energy crisis, we’re struggling even more.

“We’ve just been given our latest quotation, and it’s quadrupled – if it does come to that then the pub will be unsustainable to run.

“I don’t see how any businesses can survive this – we’d have to charge £20 a pint.”

Ms Evans and her sister came up with the idea of a lights-off protest when trying to think of ‘outside of the box’ ways to bring in customers, whilst also mounting a protest against rising utility costs.

Ms Evans added: “We’re panicking a lot. Trying to think of ways to overcome it.

“We want to be here this time next year. This pub was established in 1637, it would be a crime if it was no longer here.

“It’s not just our pub either, it’s every village pub, that’s why we’re hoping to encourage other hospitality businesses to join us in a protest against the rising costs.

“We’ve promoted our plans for candlelit dinners and acoustic music every Thursday on social media and we’ve had a fantastic response.

“People seem to really love the idea – we’re nearly fully booked already.

“We’ll be offering a toned-down menu, offering two courses for £25 and three courses for £30.

“We’re just scared. Really scared. We’ve gone through so much. Covid was one hell and now we’re going through another.

“It would be horrendous if the pub had to close. It’s a social hub for so many people.”

 

Read more from this author

This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1

A message from our Editor

Thank you for reading this story and supporting the Oxford Mail.

If you like what we do please consider getting a subscription for the Oxford Mail and in return we’ll give you unrestricted access with less adverts across our website from the latest news, investigations, features, and sport.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok for more. 

You can also join the conversation in our Facebook groups: stay ahead of traffic alerts here, keep up to date with the latest from court here, share your favourite memories of Oxford here, get your daily dose of celebrity news here and take some time out with news that will make you smile. 

If you’ve got a story for our reporters, send us your news here. You can also list an event for free here.