The London Tavern in Margate will go to auction next month with a starting point of £250,000 for bids.
The Addington Street pub shut in October 2022 just nine months after opening as the latest addition to Emma Piggott and Jonathan Mercer’s small pub group, Tiny Dancer.
As well as the pub the duo wanted to offer The Tiny Deli, serving morning coffee and pastries.
Tiny Dancer bought The London Tavern at auction in December 2021 for £475,000.
Prior to that it had been run by Carl and Nancy Hilliard since 2016 when they bought the building and set about transforming it.
Carl and Nancy previously owned Ales of the Unexpected in Westbrook and sold that business, putting every penny they had into the renovations of The London Tavern.
In 2017 the boozer was crowned Pub of the Year for Thanet by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. Carl and Nancy won the ‘Beer Oscar’ for everything from having a rustic ‘art gallery’ design by Joe Bradley, top food from head chef Joe Mullane, obviously great beer and an all round brilliant atmosphere.
In 2018 the couple put the pub on the market due to ill health. It then went to auction in 2020 and was finally sold the following year to Tiny Dancer.
When they closed the doors in October 2022 the property went on the market with an asking price in the region of £650,000.
This has now been much reduced with the £250,000 reserve. The freehold for the pub will be auctioned through Lambert Smith Hampton on May 15.
The property is over three floors with a cellar and stores in the basement, pub on the ground floor and a one-bed flat above.
The pub first made an appearance on maps in 1821 as The London Hotel and has a licensee list dating back to 1841. It was renamed the Everybody’s Inn in the 90s, reverting to The London Tavern when Nancy and Carl took over.
