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The things you might miss the most right now may be the things that have always been there. Like London’s historic and personality-filled boozers. The thing is, there’s a chance they might not be there when life returns to whatever is ‘normal’ again. London’s bars and pubs have been hit especially hard by the current crisis, with a loss in revenue but continued rent and business rates to contend with. It’s a bitter pint to swallow.
But if you care about this particular charmer of a watering hole – Bradley’s Spanish Bar, located just off Oxford Street – there’s a way you can help preserve it for future you to enjoy. The diminutive pub (not a bar at all, really) is famed for its old-school jukebox and Spanish lagers, and is typically filled with characters any time of day. And to ensure that it still will be in the years to come, its general manager has set up a crowdfunding campaign, asking people to financially support its return when the time comes.
Bradley’s general manager Jan De Vries puts it passionately: ‘With the prospect of having to stay shut for possibly another 6 weeks (or more), we’re facing an immense struggle to find the funds to open the bar again once life gets back to normal. We are getting some support from government and landlords and such but unfortunately that won’t even come close to cover the costs. Which is why we’re turning to you, our regulars, supporters, fans to help us out.’
De Vries promises there will be a fair few future parties in it for those chipping in to help save the popular boozer. People who’ve already donated to the crowdfunder have also shared their messages of support. ‘London needs individual pubs with character like this. I had great memories with my mates there,’ puts Julianna Li, while Paul Keenan says: ‘Bradley's is a London institution and it’s very important that we keep pubs like this... you only need to take one look at Soho now to know the reason why.’
The bar has set a £20,000 target to help get it back on track. You can visit the GoFundMe page to donate and ensure your next cheap Spanish lager on the other side of all this.
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