10 December 2023 , 07:00
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Wetherspoons is shutting another pub this weekend, with this boozer being the second to close in just one week.
The pub chain will be shutting its north London branch The Coronet today (December 10). The Coronet on Holloway Road in Islington was put up for sale last year alongside 30 other Wetherspoons sites. At the time, the pub chain said the decision to sell the sites was a "commercial one" and denied that the chain was facing financial woes.
On the closure of the site, a Wetherspoons spokesperson said: "We would like to thank our loyal and wonderful staff and customers for their dedicated work and custom over the years.” However, locals should not be too disappointed as another boozer could soon be taking its place.
The Coronet building was bought by property group DN Property London for an undisclosed sum. The pub was the latest addition to the group's portfolio which also includes former Wetherspoons pub The Tollgate in Harringay.
In a statement on the purchase, the chief executive of DN Property, David Nourani said that he intended for the Coronet to continue to trade as a pub, although no further confirmation on who would run the site or when it could potentially open was given. This was potentially confirmed by Wetherspoons who said no staff would be made redundant after the sale of the venue and would instead be retained or offered alternative roles at another Spoons site.
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The Coronet building first opened in 1940 as the Savoy Cinema (Jane Hobson/REX/Shutterstock)In the statement, the DN property boss said: “The Coronet is steeped in so much history that it would have been scandalous if it had been allowed to close. My intention is that it will continue as a public house, with exciting plans for a delicate and sensitive renovation."
The Coronet pub is one of Wetherspoon's more interesting sites. The building itself was designed by architect William Glenn and it first opened in 1940 as the Savoy Cinema. Its name changed twice over the next forty years being renamed as ABC Cinema in 1962 and the Coronet Cinema in 1979 according to Historic England. The venue closed in 1983 and it was later turned into a snooker hall and an amusement arcade. Wetherspoons bought the Coronet in 1996 and turned it into the pub we see today.
The Coronet building is registered as an "asset of community value" and any changes to the look of the building would need planning permission according to reports from the Islington Tribune. Last Sunday, Wetherspoons closed its venue The Foxley Hatch in Purley and again with this site, the pub chain confirmed that no staff were to be made redundant as all were offered roles at other Wetherspoons sites nearby.