A tipster writes in that he stopped by “The Angel” last night for 1/2 price food only to find a sign on the door that said they were closed due to “technical problems”.

Well, that all seems pretty innocuous until you hear that the Derek Lawford Group, which owns the Angel, (along with Hand in Hand in VaHi, Prince of Wales and Spotted Dog in Midtown) has closed pubs across the city! Why? Well apparently word on the street is that they lost their liquor license because they owed lots of back taxes. (Mick’s was forced to close for similar reasons recently)

So is this a temporary or permanent change? If the fate of Prince of Wales is any indicator, it looks like we may be saying good-bye to half-price food on Mondays and $1 pints on Sunday.

Stay tuned as the situation on the ground develops.

UPDATE: The sign on the door says that they didn’t receive their liquor license in time because there was a backlog of applications, but the pub is still serving lunch and dinner fare. Lights were on, music was blaring, but the parking lot was empty.

If there was a backlog of liquor license applications wouldn’t we be hearing an outcry from various restaurants throughout the city that were losing thousands a day because they couldn’t serve alcohol? I’m skeptical…

UPDATE2: Ok, perhaps there is a backlog? Midtown Arts Cinema’s license has also lapsed.

UPDATE3: The Angel is closed indefinitely according to a sign on the door

OK, one more thing. I’m a little attached to this story because the Angel is a stone’s throw from my house, and a good alternative when we want a quick pint or don’t want to wait in line at the Brick Store. But if the Angel is gone for good, I hope a new owner will snatch it up and open another great Decatur pub in this excellent space. (Brick Store…I’m looking in your direction. Don’t you need a satellite location??)

(Photo courtesy of Classic City Brew)