Two north-east pubs have shut after the landlords claimed they were “bullied” out.
Craig Jackson, 51, and his husband Steven Goldie, 24, moved to Aberdeen in October last year hoping to run Broadstraik and Mains of Scotstown pubs and restaurants.
But after just a few months, and a personal investment of £40,000, they have handed back the keys to the premises, saying they have walked away after vile messages on Facebook.
Owners Punch Pubs & Co say it was not an easy decision to end their business relationship with the couple.
However, they have stressed they believe it was the “correct decision” and said they hope the bars will be open again soon with temporary management.
Mr Jackson claimed it had been “hell” running the pubs due to a social media campaign that was set up to “bully” the men.
He said: “I thought Aberdeen would be the making of us. We invested £40,000, we relocated ourselves and our four cats to Aberdeen and we wanted to make a real go of the two pubs.
Yet, after only three months, and what he described as “online bullying” leading to poor mental health, the couple decided to give up.
Mr Jackson said he and his husband decided to give up on Christmas Day.
He alleged alleged former staff set up negative social media accounts that had an impact on the business.
He said he believed people had been posting fake reviews and the constant online negativity had affected sales.
Mr Jackson added: “Frankly, it became intolerable, and very distressing. Making 29 staff members unemployed is terrible for everyone. All staff who were owed money were paid their last week’s work and a week’s lieu time. My biggest regret is putting people out of work.
“We had a celebration for all staff on our last Sunday and we asked them to drink the bar dry, for free, on us.”
Increased costs add to pressure
He said that fuel bills and stock costs had also increased hugely in the last few months. From a £10,ooo income a week, outgoings on stock, staff and fuel bills left nothing in the pot.
He said: “On Christmas Day we had two tables for dinner for families with people with dementia – and I cooked it for them, rather than turn them down. But we had to cancel everyone else. It was just not possible.
“Yes, I think some of the social media bullying is homophobic. It seems that now in business, members of staff who are asked to leave, or who leave for other reasons, feel it is OK to take to social media to complain. But in the end that has an impact on the business.”
Paul Donaldson, operations manager at Punch Pubs & Co, said: “We can confirm that both the Broadstraik Inn and the Mains of Scotstown have temporarily closed.
“We understand the importance of both pubs to their communities, and whilst the decision to bring our business relationship with our current publican to an end was not easy, we believe it was the correct decision.
“We would like to assure guests that we aim to reopen both pubs under temporary management shortly whilst we proactively recruit for our next long-term publicans.”
Conversation