Dudley Council's Brooke’s Bar and Bistro looks set to close

The Dudley Council-run Brooke’s Bar and Bistro, which has been running for nearly two years, was set up to offer food and drink to visitors attending shows at Dudley Town Hall and has received good customer feedback and ratings.

But the business has failed to make ends meet and has cost the council around £200,000 in the last financial year, the authority confirmed today (Thursday August 1).

A report is being prepared for cabinet in early August recommending the Dudley town centre venue should close from August 31 this year. The council is currently battling against a £37million gap in finances over the next three years.

Brookes Bar and Bistro in Priory Street, Dudley (Image: Google Street View)

Councillor Paul Bradley, deputy leader of the council, said: “The intention was to offer a food and drink alternative to the visitors to the hall, but that simply has not been as successful as we had hoped.

“Despite everyone’s best efforts the business is making a loss, and we simply cannot allow that to happen against the backdrop of the financial pressures we are dealing with.

“This is an incredibly difficult decision, but we must make a financial one and lessen the impact on the council’s budget.

“The hall will remain unaffected and there will still be a bar open for customers to enjoy a drink when attending a show’’

The council said it is working with staff who may be affected by the closure.

Cabinet will meet on August 8 with full council making a final decision on the future of the venue on August 22.

The bar and bistro had been named after former MP and coroner for Dudley, Brooke Robinson, who left money upon his death in 1911 to create the Brooke Robinson Museum and which also funded the building of a new town hall and coroner’s court in Dudley.