The Wolves pub big with matchday fans but faces harsh reality of city centre struggles

The hospitality industry has faced incredibly tough periods of trade in recent years.

The Covid pandemic has been followed in the blink of an eye by the energy crisis, and the owner of the Plough & Harrow in Wolverhampton isn't shying away from the realities that his pub faces.

The pub has been around for over 150 years, and current owner Sukhwinder Shihmar says it has faced many tough periods during his ownership. These even date back to when he took over, and the business currently tries to hold its own amidst dying trade around the city centre.

Sukhwinder, 50, from Wolverhampton, says he has always been involved with pubs, after his father owned the Prince & Albert. However, after his passed away in 1992 Sukhwinder ran that for two to three years before moving over to the Plough & Harrow.

The Plough & Harrow did not have a great reputation at the time. According to Sukhwinder, it had a bad name for being rough and was known for drug-use, but he said that after a lot of hard work and determination, he was able to clean up the place and has been there ever since.

Speaking about what it has been like, he says: "At the time it wasn't a pub you would come into, it was a bit rough and had a bad rep.

"It was quite hard at first, taking over after my father's passing but it was all I knew, running pubs and so I carried that on.

"Plus it was not easy to go into to one of the roughest pubs, but I have turned that reputation around. During that time I have had good runs, and bad runs, it has changed both and good and bad during that time.

"We went through a recession, the pandemic and now the energy crisis - I have seen it all but I'm still here and that is the main thing."

Wolves matchdays are some of the biggest events that draw crowds to the pub, and Sukwinder says this is one of the biggest things that is keeping the business going. He even admits the business might not be here if it wasn't for the trade football fans bring.

He adds: "We have a great time on matchdays, it is massive with Wolves fans, and we even get some of the ex-players pop in and have a drink.

"But it has not been easy. We are ticking over thanks to one of the biggest contributors, the matchdays, and without them we probably wouldn't be here.

"It is something that you live and learn with. You just have to face it."

Sukhwinder is the owner of the pub, and his partner, Deborah Crowe is the landlady, and the two have been working together for over 20 years.

Speaking about what it's like being the landlady of the establishment, Deborah said: "It has had both its good and bad moments, but we have stuck together as a family unit.

"We depends on the regular trade as well as the matchdays, but it's nice to see the same people from the community come in and keep us going.

"Covid was a tough situation because we also have a lot of elderly customers, but we do all that we can to help them as much as we can.

"I was helping some of our elderly customers do their shopping for them during the lockdown, and I still do it for one gentleman.

"There is one elderly gentleman that has been a customer with us for 30 years and we are just used to each other, and it is nice to be able to have that relationship.

"We are like a surrogate family, and sometimes we are the only people that they see, so I will always try and do everything to help."

The pub is a traditional wet pub, serving drinks and focussing on the social aspect, but they also host karaoke nights which Sukhwinder said are popular with their customers.

Another contributing factor to the drop in trade is the death of the high street, and in particular Wolverhampton's city centre which has been impacted with years of roadworks, projects and unfinished works for years, according to Sukhwinder.

He said: "The roadworks have massively affected the business - the closures, roads being dug up, it has not helped at all.

"It has affected a lot of people and businesses around here, we are trying but we keep getting knocked back.

"We haven't had any support from the council as Worcester Street is not involved in the whole project, but yet it affects us as it is one of the main routes into the city centre.

"It is a bit like Worcester Street has been forgotten by the council, but we get overlooked here and always have."