It promises to be a summer of bumper business for the borough’s pubs, with licensing hours extended late into the night for football fans to gather to watch World Cup matches from north America.
‘Extensive refurbishment’: there won’t be any St George’s flags in The George during the World Cup
So Wetherspoons, whose pubs make a point of never having any televised sport to disturb the serious drinking of those £2 pints or their weekly curry nights, have opted to take the hit and close what is possibly Croydon town centre’s busiest boozer, The George, for “extensive refurbishment” for at least seven weeks.
The notice has just gone up in the pub on George Street: “The pub will be closed from Monday June 1 and will be re-opening Tuesday July 21,” it says.
Wetherspoons set up shop on George Street in what had been a furniture store in the pre-tram age of February 1993. After renting the premises for two decades, in March 2017 Wetherspoons purchased the freehold for £4million.
Ever ready to adopt local heritage, Wetherspoons named the pub as a nod to The George and Dragon, a coaching inn that stood on the corner of High Street and George Street (opposite the Whitgift Almshouses) as far back as 1497.
The George is much-appreciated by local CAMRA members for its 17 hand pumps arranged over the pub’s two bars. They are sure to be making a careful check on the what’s in place when the pub re-opens.
The World Cup kicks off on June 11, with games in Mexico, Canada and the United States right through to the final in New Jersey on Sunday July 19 (just two days before the football-free zone of The George is due to re-open).
Scotland’s first game is v Haiti on June 14 (2am kick-off UK time), while England begin their campaign on June 17 in Arlington against Croatia (9pm kick-off).
Pumped: Wetherspoons The George is popular for its cheap prices and wide variety of real ales on offer
The latter is likely to see places like Boozepark, the Spread Eagle and Surrey Street’s Dog and Bull packed out, with opening hours extended to 1am for matches kicking off between 5pm and 9pm during the World Cup. The licensing rules are further relaxed for the knock-out stages for any games featuring England, and Scotland (if they manage to get out of their group).
The Premier League season comes to a close tomorrow, with newly crowned champions Arsenal looking for a gentle kick-about at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace.
The summer’s football frenzy really gets underway next week, with two big European finals.
Crystal Palace play Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig in the UEFA Conference League final next Wednesday (May 27… a tough clash for Croydon Mayor Jason Perry).
Then next Saturday, May 30, at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest, Paris Saint-Germain face Arsenal in the Champions League final (a very civilised 5pm kick-off). But don’t even try booking a booth or a table for a few mates to watch that game on a big screen: the Dog and Bull was already fully booked earlier this week.
Now if only Rachel Reeves would take 15% VAT off the price of a pint…
Read more: George cheers travellers while they wait for the tram
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The Bull was made redundant, so the pub in Surrey Street has just been The Dog/a “dog” of a pub ever since.