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Whether or not you’d like to admit it, almost every Londoner has stumbled into a Simmons bar at some point. The retro-style bars with their neon pink frontage have become ubiquitous across the capital, beloved for their cocktail happy hours, boozy brunches and late closing times.
At the moment, there are 20 Simmons bars across London and one in Manchester – but now the brand’s numbers are diminishing.
In a ‘strategic restructuring process’ aiming to ‘streamline’ its portfolio, four Simmons bars are being axed. We know that one of the branches saying goodbye is the Simmons bar in Putney, but the other three to close are yet to be confirmed.
It’s not entirely bad news for Simmons frequenters though, At the same time, the bar chain said that it has secured funding to open new locations and, rumour has it, more bars outside of the capital could be on the cards.
The chain’s founder said: ‘As part of the process, we’ve taken the tough decision to exit four leases, allowing management to focus resources on our strongest performing venues,’ he said.
‘Alongside this, we’ve secured additional investment to support future expansion and operational improvements across the estate.’
The news comes after fellow chain Brewdog announced that it would be shutting ten of its UK pubs at the end of July.
London’s empty office blocks could be turned into ‘late night party zones’.
And the UK government has plans to protect pubs and clubs from noise complaints.
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