Slug & Lettuce to close in Southend, with customers left with last-minute Christmas cancellations

It has been confirmed that the Slug & Lettuce bar in Southend will close on 6 December 2025, with some customers now left scrambling to rearrange Christmas plans after having their festive bookings cancelled at short notice.

Stonegate Group, which owns the Slug & Lettuce chain, confirmed that the Southend High Street venue has been transferred to a new independent operator as part of a wider restructuring.

The company is moving more of its pubs into its leased and tenanted estate to give individual publicans “full control of their businesses”.

A spokesperson for Stonegate Group said: “This will be a part of Stonegate Group’s leased and tenanted division, where the publican runs their own business independently.”

The closure brings an end to more than twenty years of the Slug & Lettuce name in Southend. The brand grew quickly across the country in the early 2000s, replacing a number of older high-street pubs, including The Hogshead pub which previously occupied the site.

Clive Aiken recalled: “When it was The Hogshead, it was a great pub. Cosy, with a large bar area to get served quickly.”

Several customers say they were only informed last week that their Christmas events would no longer be going ahead. Tara Rickards said: “We had a group booking for a bottomless brunch here for 13th December and were only contacted about it being cancelled on 25 November. Now have 2 weeks to find a bottomless brunch for 16 people! It’s frustrating as we booked months ago.”

Despite the frustration, some see the change as a fresh start for the site. Andy Almond said: “This is exactly the kind of positive news that Southend’s hospitality scene needs!”

The Southend venue will reopen in mid-December as Skylah’s Bar, run by Will Farrell and Charley Costello, who already operate The Sarah Moore pub in Leigh-on-Sea.

The pair plan to relaunch the site in time for the busy Christmas period, bringing a new approach to one of the High Street’s most recognisable units.