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Pic: Eibhlin Seoighthe
CUBA, 903, CELLAR AND HARVEST CLOSE AS RECESSION BITES
By Méabh McDonnell & Richard Manton On New Year’s Day, the Jona Group – which owns Cuba*, The Cellar Bar, Bar 903 and Harvest Off-Licences – went into liquidation, resulting in the immediate closure of all premises. The club, pubs and off-licences were extremely popular student venues and
their closure has been met by shock and disappointment from NUIG students. The matter is even worse for the establishments’ 85 workers, many of which were students, who lost their jobs without notice. The premises entered into voluntary liquidation with losses of over €4 million, which
have been been attributed to a combination of low sales and high rents. John Grealish, a director of the Jona Group, said: “Since the start of the recession in June 2008 the sales in these three businesses have fallen by between 20 per cent and 50 per cent. In the last two years we have tried to manage the effects of the downturn by reducing costs.” Mr. Grealish stated that
remaining businesses in the Jona Group which include, McCanns SuperValu Moycullen, McCanns Centra Moycullen and Centra Ballybrit have been unaffected. Coincidentally, cheaper drinks prices in supermarkets, such as these owned by the Jona Group, are being blamed for the many closures of nighttime venues across the country. Val Hanley, a
former president of the Vintners Federation of Ireland and a former mayor of Galway, said: “The pub business and independent off license business has taken an awful hammering in the last year. The big supermarkets have a monopoly on the price of alcohol and pubs cannot compete with it.” See pages 16 and 17 for comment.