In reply to Siward:
I suspect that anyone who imagined buying and running the place would involve anything remotely like giving up work (especially one who is not already a publican and restaurateur) would be in for quite a shock. The main worry in the community was that it might have been bought by someone with very deep pockets who had no intention of keeping it open, and subsequently turned into a holiday home.
The crowdfunder has been open for just over 2 hours now (with 30 days to go), and they're already a bit over half way to their target.