Dove and Rainbow: Sheffield pub hit with £25k energy bill hike issues plea to support your local

Dawn Gunther, who has run the Dove and Rainbow pub on Hartshead Square, in Sheffield city centre, for 16 years, says the cost-of-living crisis is one of the biggest challenges she has faced in her time there. She fears many locals could be lost forever unless people support them through these toughest of times.

She said: “We've faced many challenges over the years – in recent times the ‘spice epidemic’ in Hartshead Square; Punch (the pub company) wanting to kick us out and turn the pub into a trendy food pub (which we knew wouldn't work!); the pandemic; and now the cost of living/energy crisis.”

Dawn told how everyone in hospitality always struggles in January and February but ‘this year it’s different’. “Customers’ bills may have gone up a lot but that’s nothing compared to ours,” she said. “Margins are tight anyway, but when faced with an £800 a month gas and electric bill (after we'd cut our use anyway) becoming more like £3,000 a month, that's over £25,000 extra (before you even look at increases in others costs, staff wages etc), which eats away at any profit (ie my wages!), and makes pubs, in general, look a lot less financially viable, even if customer support doesn't waver (which it might do, as people tighten their belts) and they were otherwise trading well.”

Could £10 pints become the norm?

She adds: “I don't have an answer, except to make sure we are continuing to offer a warm welcome (and by that I mean metaphorically – I'm not putting the heating on all day everyday!) and a reason to come to the pub. Are we looking at £10 pints? I don't think so, as I really don't see people being able to afford that.”

Dawn describes the Dove and Rainbow as a ‘little rock pub and alternative community hub’ with a very loyal bunch of regulars, tucked away next to the back of the Bankers Draft Wetherspoon pub. It has a thriving LGBTQ+ community, she says, and attracts many people who ‘just don’t feel they ‘fit in’ in other pubs’.

She doesn’t foresee any more help from the Government and says it is a case of ‘batten down the hatches, hope for a mild spring, and hope the regulars manage to keep us afloat’. “Will it help if everyone else closes, leaving more for us? I really don't think so, as we've always said you need a bit of a “circuit” to give people a reason to come to town in the first place,” she said.

“What can people do to help? Keep coming to the pub (and bar, nightclub, cafe, independent shop) if they value it, and want it to still be there in a few months’ time. Not just us – our friends, neighbours, and rivals too – it's a whole eco system and one can't survive without the others…

How can people help struggling pubs?

“You have bills, we have bills (and staff to look after). Pop in for a coffee (yes, we have a kettle!) when out shopping rather than going to Costalotofbucks; have a Pot Noodle, or Maccy Ds in the pub (or bring a packed lunch) rather than a cheap Spoons meal; invite your friends to the pub for your birthday/special occasions rather than doing something more expensive. It's not about spending more (that's fine, we know you don't necessarily have it), it's about spending with a thought for who you'd miss if they were no longer there.”