Gay London pub George & Dragon to shut its doors
By Nick Bond
Much-loved East London pub The George & Dragon is the latest LGBT venue in the city to announce it will shut its doors.
Citing a rent increase, owners Richard and Lili wrote in a post on the venue’s Facebook page that they could no longer keep the pub, which opened in 2002, in operation.
The lease for the Shoreditch bar will now go up for sale. The pair said they had endured “fraught months” before making the tough decision, and that they hoped someone with “the vision and the money” would step forward to take on the lease:
“On Monday, following several fraught months, we put the lease for The George & Dragon up for sale.
Despite 7 years remaining, a recent rent review has caused a dramatic increase in the cost of our lease and we don’t feel we can meet the payments and keep The George & Dragon as it is so we have decided, a little earlier than intended, that now is the time to wrap things up.
It is possible that someone out there may have the vision and the money to keep something of the spirit going – which would be a dream.
We will be looking for a new opportunity and hope very much that some of our dear G&D fans will be able to join us on this new journey soon.
We’ll try to be as open as we can throughout this process as we’d love as friends as possible to join us for a drink as we begin to bid farewell to our beloved old pub.
With thanks for your continued custom.
Richard(ette) and Lili(ana) and everyone at The George and Dragon.”
News of The George & Dragon follows the sudden closure of long-running LGBT cabaret bar The Black Cap earlier this year, while Soho institution Yard Bar narrowly dodged redevelopment plans that would have meant its likely closure.
