Sally Graham: ‘Years of dedication’ at the pub

AFTER 26 years of pulling pints and playing “1980s hits” in the heart of Soho, the Shaston Arms closed its doors on Saturday.

For regulars and staff, the closure wasn’t just the end of the pub, it marked the end of an era, and the farewell of a beloved manager, Sally Graham, also known as Lady Shaston.

Tucked on a side road just steps away from Carnaby Street, the Shaston Arms first opened its doors on December 20 1999.

“The decision to close the pub came out of the blue,” Ms Graham told Extra. “When we made the announcement on our Instagram page, people were shocked. Over the past few days, regulars came in to say goodbye.

“It is such a well-known pub, and this closure makes me very upset. It was totally unexpected.”

The pub gets its name from a fictional town of “Shaston” in Thomas Hardy’s novels that evoked a sense of the rural charm and history of a region of Dorset, where the Hall & Woodhouse brewery that ran the pub has been operating since 1777.

The pub was renamed last year “Lady” Shaston Arms after Ms Graham who regulars described as “the woman of Soho”.

“This place wouldn’t have been the same without her. It’s the end of an era. We are all devastated,” one customer told Extra. In its heyday, the pub welcomed regulars, tourists, and celebrities, from Noel Gallagher, to the Blue band players, to cast members of the Peaky Blinders series.

But it was the atmosphere and its hospitality that made the place unique. It had celebrated its 25th anniversary, begun a major refurbishment, and started a partnership with Pizza Pilgrims, whose founders were loyal customers.

But plans to renew the lease were denied. Despite the Hall & Woodhouse family’s wish to stay, the building’s landlord – real estate investment trust Shaftesbury PLC – is said to have accepted a “substantial” offer from a yet-unnamed gastro pub. Details of the new venture are yet to be made public and the landowner did not respond to a request for comment.

Soho has been going through deep changes and many independently-run businesses are being pushed out. Since 2004 one in five pubs have closed across Greater London.

With rising overhead costs and lifestyle changes after Covid-19, another mainstay of the Soho community has shut.

Ms Graham said that the pub’s success lay in its uniqueness and hospitality, and added: “It was all about love and making memories, a community pub for the people who worked in the area. We had wedding receptions and engagement parties here. It was all about connecting, sharing stories, and talking to people.” Now 58, she has worked in Soho for over 20 years and before arriving in London she was a singer for Disney on cruise ships.

The Soho she remembers was wild, funky, and free. “When I started working here, Soho was very much a party place, fun and crazy, she said.

“It doesn’t have that vibrancy any more. It used to be wild and crazy. A lot changed. Everything is now centered on food. Most places don’t even provide service. It’s all about QR codes and TVs. The sense of community and identity is lost.”

She told Extra she was happy to be going out on a high. On its closing night there were more than 300 people outside and last week they recorded their highest ever income.

Ms Graham is moving back to Newcastle, her home town, to start a new chapter. But she said her the pub’s legacy would live on through the brewery’s pubs in London, also mostly run by women, she noted. They include St Stephen’s Tavern in Westminster, The Old Nick Holborn, The Ship & Shovell Charing Cross, The Woodman in Battersea, The Prince Edward Bayswater, and The Monkey Puzzle Paddington.