Yes I have been in the odd Brewdog bar and the staff themselves have been fine so it is a shame for them but as you say some of those higher up are odious people.
The bars, whilst being nice enough, weren’t cheap and I never saw that many people in when I passed the one local to me. It was quite large but with relatively few tables. It was presumably a similar story elsewhere and why the vast majority were not kept as part of the deal.