ANNA Madams, who closed the Dolphin Inn in Waterloo Road, Wellington, on Friday night, plans to open a cafe in the town centre.

Plantside, a plant-based cafe, will be opening in the former Sprague’s butcher’s shop in High Street.

Anna stressed: “I’m not opening a vegan cafe. I am opening a cafe for people who would like to reduce their meat consumption. I hope it will open at the beginning of February.”

She has been forced to close the Dolphin for financial reasons.

She added: “It has never made money in the eight years I have been running it. The lease is slightly under £3,000 a month and you have to sell an awful lot of beer to cover just the rent.

“Although we weren’t yet profitable our trade was growing 20 per cent a year until The Iron Duke arrived. It is almost impossible to compete against Wetherspoon’s in a small town the size of Wellington.

“I’ve no idea what is going to happen to the Dolphin. I have been subsidising it from another pub in Bristol but this was sold 18 months ago, which is what has been providing me with an income.”

The Dolphin had been closed for a year before Anna took it over in 2012, introducing live music, quizzes and food. It has also been a meeting place for all kinds of groups in the upstairs function rooms.

Ironically, the pub was packed for its last night on Friday. “If we had nights like this on Fridays and Saturdays I would not be closing,” she said.