The couple, who took over the St Austell tenancy in 2010, have worked with the brewery for 25 years, and before that worked for Morlands.
They won the top accolade of BII Licensees of the Year (LOYA) in 2018.
Tanya told the Morning Advertiser (The MA): “It was a really hard decision. It is a beautiful, lovely pub. It was tough.
“But it seems that for the first time ever we can’t see that light at the end of tunnel anymore.
“We have been through so much over the years from foot and mouth to the Covid pandemic and there always seems like there is a brighter future out there; we don’t know where that has gone at the moment.”
Though she praised St Austell as being “fantastic” to work with, highlighting their support during the Covid lockdowns when they helped with rent costs as the pub did not qualify for a grant.
Love the industry
“We still love the industry and it is a massive part of who we are but we feel that now is the right time to get out while the going is good,” she continued.
Tanya explained while the business is profitable, she can see there would need to be a change in offer to ensure that can continue.
“We offer fantastic customer service and that costs money with staffing. We make sure we are open seven days a week serving food from breakfast, lunch to dinner and we do that for the community rather than the profit.
“The electric is on from 6.30am in the morning until we don’t close our doors until 11pm at night. We believe pubs should be open all the time and we are a public service.
“But with the added costs of National Insurance and utilities and everything else, I just can’t seem to see where it is going to end. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” she explained.
Tanya added the duo don’t want to change their style of operation, from the food offer to the level of customer service, as they have always focused on supporting people living locally and didn’t want to take the decision many other pubs have to close on some days or afternoons.
“We are really proud of what we do and we don’t want to face those decisions,” she said.
Uncertain future
Tanya and Alex’s last day in the pub will be on Wednesday 1 October 2025 and they are looking forward to “giving it their all” for the summer trading period.
Looking to the future, Tanya told The MA she is unsure what the future holds: “I am definitely going to breath for a few months. Only because all we have ever done is run pubs so I am not sure what we look like not running pubs.”
However, she expects to be looking for a new role and opportunity at the start of 2026, she said: “You have to properly close one door and then see what doors open.
“The problem is we still love the industry and we can see that if we stay for another couple of years and then come out, we may not love the industry. This has been our life and we don’t want to leave feeling negative.”
