Simpsons Tavern, one of the City’s oldest lunch spots has fallen into disrepair as its owners battle for control of the property after it got into rent arrears during the pandemic.
The chophouse, which first opened in 1757 and calls itself one of London’s oldest, closed in 2022 and has not reopened since.
The venue was seized by the landlord after demanding the occupiers to pay the unpaid rent.
Chief Inspector James Minney, City of London Police said: “We are investigating an attempted burglary at Simpsons Tavern which we believed happened on Sunday 26 May.”
“We secured the area while crime scene investigators visited the scene. If anyone has any information, please contact us on 020 7601 2222 reference 8662.”
Over the past two years, Simpsons Tavern have been running a crowdfunding scheme to help raise £385k to ensure the future of the institution.
“We have a secure ‘within the Act’ Lease, which means if we can raise sufficient funds and pay back the arrears the Landlord has to let us back in for the remainder of our lease,” a statement on its funding page reads.
Simpsons Tavern vandalised as it fights for its survival (Credit: Photo by Katie Wignall, Look Up London )
Its management took to X, formally known as Twitter, over the weekend to share updated images of the popular haunt, which appeared to have been vandalised.
“Sadly now we are a crime scene,” the post read, accompanied with an image of the bar with its windows smashed and trinkets spilling onto the street.
A separate post showed the windows have since been boarded up but staff behind Simpsons said they were looking to contact its solicitors to see if they could arrange a visit to the property.
Simpsons Tavern said the images were originally from Look Up London, which posts about the history of the Square Mile, and runs tour guides around the City of London.
Last February, Simpson’s Tavern had been successful in challenging a winding up order and will now fight the forfeiture of its historic premises.
Restaurants and pubs across London have struggled to fully recover from the fall out of the pandemic, with the cost of living crisis and rising supply costs further damaging sales.