Updated: The Story Behind the Closing of Britannia Arms in Aptos

Earlier this week, customers hoping to sip a pint at their favorite pub, the Britannia Arms, found it to be closed.

There was no sign on the door offering explanation, and on Wednesday morning, jukeboxes were removed from the building, signifying that this may just be a permanent closure.

Andy Hewitt, owner, says that there are still negotiations pending with the landlord, but that the reasons for the closure are economic—the rent was simply too high to keep up with in the current economic slump.

"People can't afford to go out. A lot of people used to come down once a week, and they come down once every five months now," said Hewitt on Friday.

"With the we economy we cannot support $100,000 a year of rent there, and it's getting worse and worse," he said.

At the height of the economy, Hewitt owned eight Britannia Arms pubs, but the Carmel and Aptos closures leave six remaining—four in San Jose and one in Capitola.

"It's sad because the Aptos one was the nicest of them all," said Hewitt.

The community appears to be as heartbroken as the owner. One patron even left a lit candle with a note on the doorstop of the closed pub, saying how much he misses it already, said Hewitt. 

"I thank all of the community for the last 18 years and you know one day maybe we'll be back. If the new redevelopment plan goes in and we get some more foot traffic maybe we'll be back one day. I've had a wonderful time there for 18 years, the people in Aptos were lovely, I feel like I let a lot of them down," Hewitt said between customers at the Capitola location.

A lot of the staff and many of the customers have transfered to the Capitola location, which is thriving thanks to the heavy tourist traffic. 

"Aptos has become just a sleepy little village," Hewitt said, and hopes that the Aptos redevelopment plan, which he says has been being discussed for the past 20 years, is put into action.

While the fate of the pub remains up in the air, Hewitt says he recieved two discreet phone calls from people he didn't know, interested in purchasing his liquor license. 

The Aptos pub, located at 8017 Soquel Drive, has been a favorite since 1995.