Patriots Arms landlord bids farewell after four years in charge

Sunny Patel has been in charge of the local village boozer since just before the pandemic and during that time worked hard to make it an important part of the community.

But, he has announced that he has called last orders on his management of the venue so that he can focus on his other retail businesses. 

He says that he could have closed the pub earlier than he has, because he has experienced some financial difficulty, but wanted to keep it open until the new owners could take over. 

His last day behind the bar was Friday, August 4, before the new team took over the next day.

The Patriot's Arms, Chiseldon (Image: Newsquest)

In an emotional goodbye, Mr Patel referenced learning from 'ups and downs' and stated that he had many happy memories of serving the Chiseldon community for the last four years. 

"It's our last day of running the Patriots Arms today," he said. 

"We served Chiseldon communities people for many years and we have great and happy memories with you all.

"I would also like to say thank you very much to each and everyone for their support.

"We are proud of our efforts during the Covid pandemic, and in organising many charity events to help people in many ways."

Among the contributions to the community, Mr Patel organised the giving away of thousands of free meals during the pandemic and has helped raise thousands for the Prospect Hospice with a Monday pub quiz. 

The pub has also been the venue for the colourful Holi festival, as well as several nights of live music and other entertainment. 

Continuing his goodbye, Mr Patel added: "We have our ups & downs but we learned a lot & made many friends during our journey."

He finally wished the new team good luck for their takeover and added that he'd love to share one last drink with people on his final shift. 

He said: "We will miss you all & best wishes to all."

Mr Patel announced his departure on Facebook early on Friday afternoon, and news of his departure has been met with well wishes from members of the community. 

It has not yet been officially confirmed at this time who will be taking over at the Patriots Arms.