I visited Milton Keynes in late 2024 and at the time I was working my way around all of the Brewdog venues in the chain, something which has been much easier more recently as they’ve shut most of them.
I didn’t post about this visit at the time as there’s not much point being negative about pubs and bars given all the challenges that they have in general. It was a highly sub-optimal visit though, I was ignored at the bar and one of the team members was merrily eating pizza and using the same hand to serve customers and handle their glasses. I don’t set my standards that high, but the whole combination of this and the lack of welcome made me feel that I was disturbing a private party, so I quietly walked out and went to another pub. My plan at the time was just to visit at another time, but I’ve now missed that opportunity as it has permanently closed.
It’s an interesting snapshot of time in terms of the pricing though, they’re way above the average for a craft beer bar for those same beers. Although I can’t say I predicted the demise of nearly the entire chain, it was evident that the standards between venues were very different and getting enough customers at those prices was always going to be a challenge.
The venue is currently being advertised for rental, but this is a former JD Wetherspoon outlet known as The Secklow Hundred and it seems that the chain is on the hook now for the lease because Brewdog have gone under. The rental price hasn’t been disclosed, but the annual service charge is £24,000 and the annual business rates are £38,000, so this is not going to be a cheap venue to take over. It does though have a late licence until 03:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, so if they can work out how to get a late night audience out then that might help with the huge costs of operation.