13/10/2026
❤️ LET’S NOT SUGARCOAT IT… THE PUB TRADE IS TOUGH! ❤️
This is a slightly different post from us today, but one that I feel is important to share.
The hospitality industry is facing some incredibly challenging times, and I don’t think people always realise just how difficult running a pub has become.
📈 Rising food and drink costs
💡 Ever-increasing energy bills
💷 Higher wages, National Insurance and running costs
🍽️ Customers understandably having less disposable income
🏡 The constant pressure to adapt to changing habits and lifestyles
And the hardest part? We know our customers are feeling the pinch too. We can’t just keep putting prices up to cover every increase, because we understand that going out for a meal is becoming more of a luxury for many families.
❤️ ON A PERSONAL NOTE…
I am so incredibly proud of what we’ve created at The Castle Inn.
This pub is so much more than just a business to me. It’s something I’ve poured my heart, soul, time and energy into.
Social media often shows you the lovely meals, the busy restaurant, the celebrations, the events and all the happy moments.
What you don’t see are the long hours, the worry, the sleepless nights, the constant juggling of bills and the pressure of trying to get everything right.
And I’ll be completely open…
I don’t want this pub to fail.
Not because I’m afraid of hard work, but because I genuinely believe in what we’re building here.
I’m proud of our team, proud of the food we serve, proud of the atmosphere we’ve created and proud of every little step forward we’ve made.
And I’m certainly not ready to give up on any of it. ❤️
🚗 MOVING WITH THE TIMES…
One thing I’ve learnt is that we can’t expect the world to stay the same. As a business, we have to adapt.
That’s one of the reasons we recently joined Deliveroo.
We appreciate that not everyone wants to go out for dinner. Sometimes, after a long day, you just want a lovely home-cooked meal delivered to your door.
So we’ve brought The Castle Inn to you!
And I’m absolutely delighted that we’ve consistently received FIVE-STAR REVIEWS on our deliveries so far! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
We’re still learning, still finding our feet and still looking at ways to improve.
If you’ve ordered from us and enjoyed your food, please consider leaving us a review if you haven’t already. It really does make a difference, especially when we’re trying to establish ourselves on a new platform.
🍻 AND THIS ISN’T JUST ABOUT THE CASTLE INN…
This is about all our local pubs.
Every independent pub has its own story, its own struggles and its own people working tirelessly behind the scenes.
We’re not competing over who deserves support the most. We all deserve to have thriving local businesses and communities.
So whether it’s The Castle Inn or another lovely local pub, please continue to support them whenever you can.
Pop in for a drink, book a Sunday lunch, try somewhere new, recommend your favourites to friends or simply share their posts.
Because the sad reality is that once these pubs are gone, we may never get them back.
❤️ A LITTLE SUPPORT GOES A LONG WAY.
And support doesn’t always have to cost a penny.
A like, a share, a comment, a recommendation or a positive review can mean the absolute world to a small business.
I’m not writing this for sympathy, and I’m certainly not writing it to suggest we’re giving up.
Quite the opposite.
I’m writing this because I believe in The Castle Inn, I believe in our team, and I believe that our local pubs are worth fighting for.
To everyone who has supported us, whether that’s been dining with us, ordering a takeaway, attending an event or simply cheering us on from the sidelines…
Thank you. Genuinely. ❤️
We will keep working hard, keep adapting, keep listening and keep doing everything we can to make The Castle Inn somewhere our community can be proud of.
Here’s to keeping our local pubs alive, one pint, one meal and one visit at a time. 🍻❤️
Much love,
The Castle Inn 🐦🌸
📍 Haltoft End, Freiston, Boston
📞 01205 335577
🚗 Now delivering through Deliveroo!
