The Orange Tree has closed down again, just over a year after it was relaunched.
The 17th-century pub on Old Market Place was shut for over two years before owner Enterprise Inns invested in a refit and reopened it in October 2014.
But despite being in one of the most beautiful and historic parts of the town, Enterprise has again decided to shut the pub’s doors after two separate tenants were unable to make it a profitable venture.
However, Enterprise has not given up on the pub and is readvertising it to prospective tenants as a “well-established, historic pub” with a potential yearly turnover of £356,000.
And the pub company’s regional manager, Colin Broadhurst, is hopeful he has found a new tenant who could reopen the pub as early as this weekend – subject to statutory compliance procedures.
Broadhurst said: “If it all goes through, it could be relet by Friday and reopened in time for this weekend, unless the new tenant wanted to do some work before reopening.”
Enterprise has five pubs in Altrincham – the Tavern on the Green, the Bricklayers, the Old Roebuck, H Nicholsons and the Orange Tree, as well as Ye Olde No 3 in Little Bollington.
But while insisting that Enterprise was “committed” to Altrincham, Broadhurst said that despite the resurgence of the market area, there was scant evidence of a revival for many other businesses in the town.
“People come in, go to the market, get in their car and go home again,” he said.
“Altrincham demographically is a fantastic place but unfortunately the residents of Altrincham tend to only use certain areas and there are large sections of Altrincham which don’t benefit.”
