Two more bars in Birmingham city centre have become victims of the devastating economic impact of the coronavirus lockdown, with one accusing its landlord of a lack of support.
Bar Opus at One Snowhill and cocktail venue Island Bar, in Suffolk Street Queensway, have both announced they will not be reopening after government lockdown restrictions on hospitality venues were eased earlier this month.
The news in Bennetts Hill, revealed it would not be reopening, bringing to an end less than two years of trading in the city.
Bar Opus was launched in autumn 2014 by the same team behind business district restaurant Opus which reopened earlier this month and continues to trade.
Its key audience was the business community due to its location in one of the city's most high-profile office blocks and next to Snow Hill station and proved a popular venue for corporate parties and networking events.
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Director Ann Tonks said it was a heartbreaking decision not to reopen and warned that many in the hospitality industry would be making similar decisions.
She added: "We have been unable to secure landlord support to enable us to trade through the difficult times ahead.
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"The very slow and phased return of business customers to the city centre is a huge challenge.
"This lack of business customers, on which the bar relies, is a considerable blow while being faced with continued high rent and service charge demands.
"We recognise the significant support we received from the Government through the rates holiday and furlough scheme (but) we cannot continue to draw on the job retention scheme when we know closure is inevitable.
"We thank all who made the bar a social, lively hub - our customers, family of suppliers and fabulous staff whose hard work, humour and enthusiasm sustained us over our six years."
One Snowhill's owner, German real estate firm Union Investment, declined to comment.
Island Bar was opened in 2006 by Matt Scriven and provided the launchpad for his independent bar group Bitters N' Twisted which has since grown from this single venue to eight across Birmingham, Worcester and Leicester.
Mr Scriven "We're gutted about having to make the decision to close Island Bar permanently but, with most of our revenue opportunities extremely minimal for the foreseeable future, it felt like we had no choice but to shut up shop.
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"We hope the eight extremely hard working ex-members of staff will find new roles as soon as possible.
"We're proud of having survived in a tough industry for so long and hopefully we helped put a few smiles on the faces of our guests along the way."
Speaking exclusively to BusinessLive in May, Mr Scriven warned then of a "very difficult period" for the city's hospitality sector, saying he feared it would take a "hell of a long time" for venues to get back on their feet.
The group's other venues, such as Bodega, Jekyll & Hyde and Rose Villa Tavern will re-open during August.