A Dallas pub, The Londoner, was forced to close its doors during England’s World Cup victory over Croatia, just a day after reporting sales of over 5,000 beers to jubilant fans.
The establishment, a hub for England supporters, was shut down by the fire marshal following “the mayhem that descended on us,” with social media footage showing extreme overcrowding.
The pub had previously boasted about its impressive beer sales the night before the Three Lions’ opening match.
However, in a statement issued on Wednesday, The Londoner lamented that these sales did not account for the “destruction of our property and landscaping.” While “incredibly grateful for the business,” the pub reminded patrons it operates within a “complex of other businesses.”
It read: “We are closed for the rest of the day, on order of the fire marshal.
“Thank you to those of us who saw the mayhem that descended upon us and understand we did our very best to manage the situation.
“The sales are overinflated in reports and do not account for the destruction of our property and landscaping.
“We are incredibly grateful for the business and have done our absolute best to manage it.
“Reminder to our guests: We are in a complex of other businesses, but there are also residences in Mockingbird Station.”
The venue played host to hundreds of Three Lions supporters on Tuesday, which saw many defy police pleas to leave the premises.
During that evening, fans could be seen kicking a football up onto the pub’s balcony, with the ball occasionally landing on the bonnets of nearby vehicles.
Plants were also dropped off the edge of the balcony by a very small group.
A number of England fans stayed behind to help the clean-up efforts.
Police officers entered the pub and ordered supporters to move on just before 10pm.
After the venue was cleared, a large number of fans remained on the balcony for another couple of hours.
Officers confirmed the early closure was due to the venue reaching maximum capacity, with only two security guards on duty.
Bar staff previously said 2,352 bottles of beer were sold, with more than 5,000 beers in total being shifted, and around £30,000 made from sales from the evening – although the figure has now been disputed.
The Londoner Pub told customers it would be opening its doors again at 11am on Thursday.
