Hi Paul, you tell the story of so many venues, I am a founder member of a community cinema that has been running now for 30 years. Pre COVID we were seeing audiences of 160k a year, school holidays we were packed out, weekends were our busiest time. Now we are only reaching audiences of 80k we have lost 50% of our patrons. As you say, people are streaming, they don’t want to interact with their fellow man anymore they prefer to sit in their living rooms with a crate of beer and a bag of crisps. COVID and lockdowns were the death of hospitality. Great article Paul, it’s very sad indeed and unfortunately it’s happening everywhere.
As a retired Bar/Restaurant owner I think you could add another suspect. There was a day when friends, fellow workers, tradesmen and others at the end of a day would by habit end up in their local before going home. They would say hello or give a nod to all their fellow regulars. What social media has done is make everyone so up tight so that relaxed humorous social friendly conversion has gone because everybody has so much information in their heads on which of course they develop a view. Differences of opinion become louder, blood pressure rises and the joy of the days of having a few relaxing quiet pints with the boys becomes a memory. The Pub atmosphere is no longer inviting.
My husband and I have started going out, late afternoon, early evening. Our locals are very much as you have described, emptying mid evening, but in the City, a large number of the younger crowd don’t come out until after 10pm. Pubs are open so late, they are replacing nightclubs.
I do agree covid lockdown changed how we socialise, I vividly remember my delight as we were allowed to sit in the outdoor area of our local, and seeing the young girls in their glamorous clothes, and fully made up, masks and loungewear dumped.
Never again should we experience anything like lockdown again.
Partly guilty - as I get older, I would rather go out for a meal than spend the evening in a pub. I expect somewhere like Norwich has a surfeit or eateries that are also struggling to catch the same audience. Our good village pubs cover both ends of the market - the diners and the ‘pop in for a pint or two’ and are reasonably busy. If you are ever in Tonbridge the Foresters does cracking pizzas that go down very well with a pint or three - and seems popular. But then again most evenings, after a day’s hard work etc most of us want to sit on our sofas, glass of wine, TV and Substack …
Whereas it used to be nice to spend long evenings in the pub drinking & socialising etc, not being able to smoke means it's not a place I particularly enjoy being for any length of time.
So nowadays I might have a pub lunch with a friend or two, I just don't have the inclination to stay in a pub for hours.
The erosion of 3rd spaces now especially pubs but also parks, green spaces, traditional hospitality (think "caffs") turning into soulless upmarket chains has been widely discussed for a while now. I guess it's the end game of the smartphone and social media which has created anxious lonely generations with subpar social skills and short attention spans as well as the fear of stupid silly stuff on the horizon like the dreaded "Banter ban" because ubersensitive woke employees might get upset hearing some saucy language or opinions they don't agree with. Trendy gentrified craft bars with the mulleted, ironic-mustached, septum pierced staff are the absolute pits as well id rather take an old fashioned boozer anyday. Personally I like The Woodman in Birmingham an old listed Victorian real ale place which discreetly does food but it's not a must it's still very much a wet pub. I never get sniffy about 'Spoons because they serve a purpose. But the economics on £5-6 pints outside London and £6-8 ones inside against people's purchasing power is very tricky.
Many pubs morphed to be restaurants during COVID and that has compounded problems now that restaurants are in equally dire straits. Also, pub food used to be non-existent, or just a roll or something, or cheap and cheerful a few basic dishes (ham, egg and chips or lasagne or shepherds/cottage pie etc) but not restaurant grade £20 main courses and that's where your average pub meal is at now. Also to my annoyance as someone who hates fish they now regularly serve fish and chips as a staple something they never did before because it was seen to encroach on chip shop territory. And as well made as it may be, the whole pub will stink of fish. I've gone home with my shirt, hair, scarf and jacket stinking of fish. Long live pubs and I partake as much as I can but the economics now is tricky.
Good article, Paul. The demise of the pub ( I mean proper bars, ‘boozers’ – not micro bars or pub restaurants, which seem to be doing ok) is sad. A pub is a focal point for many.
This demise was happening before Covid, but the lockdowns accentuated the trend. The demise of libraries, council-run playschemes, youth centres and other community organisations also were affected before Covid ( but were badly affected by the lockdowns). This was due to austerity measures and tightening of l.a. budgets and the selling-off or outsourcing of community provision.
I take your point about the effects of Covid and I agree that there is greater atomisation and privatism in society. But it is not a blanket phenomenon with regard to pubs in my experience. There are a number of other reasons for changes in drinking habits from my own experience. One IS cost. In Newcastle city centre the average price of a pint I would say is between 5 and 6 a pint. So you can get a bottle of wine for the price of one pint (unless you go to Wetherspoon’s, of course – those even in the city centre are always busy). But where I live on Tyneside, people tend to drink in the suburbs in pubs and clubs serving cheaper drinks. In Wallsend, for example, pubs are generally busy – most of the day and night. So I suppose it is also where pubs are situated that determine their ‘footfall’. But here there is a pub culture, especially on match days. In certain parts of Tyneside people were seeming to go out more (and go on holiday more) as a counter-reaction to the lockdowns
The process of gentrification in some areas is also a factor. On Tyneside what were once earthy and relatively cheap bars have been trendified and are now more expensive. With certain bars and areas, the working class have been pushed out and replaced or renovated to cater for more middle-class tastes like craft beers, artisan foods and pseudo boho surroundings (not that I am wholly against this, as some former derelict areas have been revived – as long as cultural exclusion does not take place). Close by are working class unreconstructed drinking areas where the middle classes would not tread – for ‘aesthetic’ and class reasons. Within short distances, pub cultures can be worlds apart.
Pubs and drinking are changing for demographic and economic reasons. But also moralising elites have tried to denigrate and sanitise and stifle pub culture. But I suspect it will live on – thank goodness.
Good article Paul and a well loved pub. My simple take is possibly working from home means you don’t knock off from work at 5 like you used to do but can get there much earlier for a couple of pints! The Fat Cat nearby is always busy at different times. The cost is of course a factor. But perhaps the most important factor is a lost sense of belonging across our local communities which have been fractured by cultural dissipation and communication via social media. I think it would also be helpful to tax supermarket booze to level the playing field.
Paul - The steady demise of pubs is just another one of those societal changes that you have described so eloquently. In my area most of the pubs have closed or become restaurants. I put this down to:
A major increase in new residents from cultures that don't drink alcohol.
High running costs resulting in high prices. A drink is now at best a weekend treat.
A rise in the anti-alcohol lobby and it's power in main stream media resulting in greater health concerns.
However, the main reason is that most young people no longer go regularly to pubs for socialising or meeting potential partners. This is done instead through the controlled environment of social media. Meeting new people in person was once an enjoyable pastime, but is now seen by many as fraught with risks and best avoided. The outcome is that "wet pubs" are no longer financially viable in many areas.
Don’t forget the younger and sometimes middle aged , who would rather waft themselves in weed than sit in a watering hole. Another reason I believe for the “imagine” politics, which is feeding the Green vote. Obviously, the safetyism of smoking bans, extending to vapes , alcohol testing at work, rail staff and council staff for example aren’t allowed to drink in Uniform in some parts. The general pettiness of bureaucrats and of course the pandering to Islamists, with some trying to target our drinking culture. I have good bustling neighbourhood pubs and a local sports club, but don’t forget a moderate round can cost upwards of £30 so cost is an issue,especially for the young and skint.
Hi Paul, you tell the story of so many venues, I am a founder member of a community cinema that has been running now for 30 years. Pre COVID we were seeing audiences of 160k a year, school holidays we were packed out, weekends were our busiest time. Now we are only reaching audiences of 80k we have lost 50% of our patrons. As you say, people are streaming, they don’t want to interact with their fellow man anymore they prefer to sit in their living rooms with a crate of beer and a bag of crisps. COVID and lockdowns were the death of hospitality. Great article Paul, it’s very sad indeed and unfortunately it’s happening everywhere.
As a retired Bar/Restaurant owner I think you could add another suspect. There was a day when friends, fellow workers, tradesmen and others at the end of a day would by habit end up in their local before going home. They would say hello or give a nod to all their fellow regulars. What social media has done is make everyone so up tight so that relaxed humorous social friendly conversion has gone because everybody has so much information in their heads on which of course they develop a view. Differences of opinion become louder, blood pressure rises and the joy of the days of having a few relaxing quiet pints with the boys becomes a memory. The Pub atmosphere is no longer inviting.
That's an interesting point.
More pubs, sadly, will die
And it’s not too hard to see why;
We sit, on our own,
drinking Stella, at home,
With Eurosport, Netflix and Sky.
The area where I live in Edinburgh has lost many many pubs.
There are only three still open to serve Moredun, The Inch, Ferniehill, Gilmerton, Gracemount, South House and Burdiehoose.
The pubs down Leith when we meet up to go to the Hibs games have few decent drinking shops. Most are now student friendly hell holes.
My grandbairns are going to miss out on having a local.
The centre of Edinburgh is well catered for though where tourists can be relieved of their money.
My husband and I have started going out, late afternoon, early evening. Our locals are very much as you have described, emptying mid evening, but in the City, a large number of the younger crowd don’t come out until after 10pm. Pubs are open so late, they are replacing nightclubs.
I do agree covid lockdown changed how we socialise, I vividly remember my delight as we were allowed to sit in the outdoor area of our local, and seeing the young girls in their glamorous clothes, and fully made up, masks and loungewear dumped.
Never again should we experience anything like lockdown again.
Partly guilty - as I get older, I would rather go out for a meal than spend the evening in a pub. I expect somewhere like Norwich has a surfeit or eateries that are also struggling to catch the same audience. Our good village pubs cover both ends of the market - the diners and the ‘pop in for a pint or two’ and are reasonably busy. If you are ever in Tonbridge the Foresters does cracking pizzas that go down very well with a pint or three - and seems popular. But then again most evenings, after a day’s hard work etc most of us want to sit on our sofas, glass of wine, TV and Substack …
The smoking ban did it for me.
Whereas it used to be nice to spend long evenings in the pub drinking & socialising etc, not being able to smoke means it's not a place I particularly enjoy being for any length of time.
So nowadays I might have a pub lunch with a friend or two, I just don't have the inclination to stay in a pub for hours.
The erosion of 3rd spaces now especially pubs but also parks, green spaces, traditional hospitality (think "caffs") turning into soulless upmarket chains has been widely discussed for a while now. I guess it's the end game of the smartphone and social media which has created anxious lonely generations with subpar social skills and short attention spans as well as the fear of stupid silly stuff on the horizon like the dreaded "Banter ban" because ubersensitive woke employees might get upset hearing some saucy language or opinions they don't agree with. Trendy gentrified craft bars with the mulleted, ironic-mustached, septum pierced staff are the absolute pits as well id rather take an old fashioned boozer anyday. Personally I like The Woodman in Birmingham an old listed Victorian real ale place which discreetly does food but it's not a must it's still very much a wet pub. I never get sniffy about 'Spoons because they serve a purpose. But the economics on £5-6 pints outside London and £6-8 ones inside against people's purchasing power is very tricky.
Many pubs morphed to be restaurants during COVID and that has compounded problems now that restaurants are in equally dire straits. Also, pub food used to be non-existent, or just a roll or something, or cheap and cheerful a few basic dishes (ham, egg and chips or lasagne or shepherds/cottage pie etc) but not restaurant grade £20 main courses and that's where your average pub meal is at now. Also to my annoyance as someone who hates fish they now regularly serve fish and chips as a staple something they never did before because it was seen to encroach on chip shop territory. And as well made as it may be, the whole pub will stink of fish. I've gone home with my shirt, hair, scarf and jacket stinking of fish. Long live pubs and I partake as much as I can but the economics now is tricky.
Mick G, North Tyneside
Good article, Paul. The demise of the pub ( I mean proper bars, ‘boozers’ – not micro bars or pub restaurants, which seem to be doing ok) is sad. A pub is a focal point for many.
This demise was happening before Covid, but the lockdowns accentuated the trend. The demise of libraries, council-run playschemes, youth centres and other community organisations also were affected before Covid ( but were badly affected by the lockdowns). This was due to austerity measures and tightening of l.a. budgets and the selling-off or outsourcing of community provision.
I take your point about the effects of Covid and I agree that there is greater atomisation and privatism in society. But it is not a blanket phenomenon with regard to pubs in my experience. There are a number of other reasons for changes in drinking habits from my own experience. One IS cost. In Newcastle city centre the average price of a pint I would say is between 5 and 6 a pint. So you can get a bottle of wine for the price of one pint (unless you go to Wetherspoon’s, of course – those even in the city centre are always busy). But where I live on Tyneside, people tend to drink in the suburbs in pubs and clubs serving cheaper drinks. In Wallsend, for example, pubs are generally busy – most of the day and night. So I suppose it is also where pubs are situated that determine their ‘footfall’. But here there is a pub culture, especially on match days. In certain parts of Tyneside people were seeming to go out more (and go on holiday more) as a counter-reaction to the lockdowns
The process of gentrification in some areas is also a factor. On Tyneside what were once earthy and relatively cheap bars have been trendified and are now more expensive. With certain bars and areas, the working class have been pushed out and replaced or renovated to cater for more middle-class tastes like craft beers, artisan foods and pseudo boho surroundings (not that I am wholly against this, as some former derelict areas have been revived – as long as cultural exclusion does not take place). Close by are working class unreconstructed drinking areas where the middle classes would not tread – for ‘aesthetic’ and class reasons. Within short distances, pub cultures can be worlds apart.
Pubs and drinking are changing for demographic and economic reasons. But also moralising elites have tried to denigrate and sanitise and stifle pub culture. But I suspect it will live on – thank goodness.
Superb comment Mick I wholly agree with all.
Good article Paul and a well loved pub. My simple take is possibly working from home means you don’t knock off from work at 5 like you used to do but can get there much earlier for a couple of pints! The Fat Cat nearby is always busy at different times. The cost is of course a factor. But perhaps the most important factor is a lost sense of belonging across our local communities which have been fractured by cultural dissipation and communication via social media. I think it would also be helpful to tax supermarket booze to level the playing field.
Paul - The steady demise of pubs is just another one of those societal changes that you have described so eloquently. In my area most of the pubs have closed or become restaurants. I put this down to:
A major increase in new residents from cultures that don't drink alcohol.
High running costs resulting in high prices. A drink is now at best a weekend treat.
A rise in the anti-alcohol lobby and it's power in main stream media resulting in greater health concerns.
However, the main reason is that most young people no longer go regularly to pubs for socialising or meeting potential partners. This is done instead through the controlled environment of social media. Meeting new people in person was once an enjoyable pastime, but is now seen by many as fraught with risks and best avoided. The outcome is that "wet pubs" are no longer financially viable in many areas.
Don’t forget the younger and sometimes middle aged , who would rather waft themselves in weed than sit in a watering hole. Another reason I believe for the “imagine” politics, which is feeding the Green vote. Obviously, the safetyism of smoking bans, extending to vapes , alcohol testing at work, rail staff and council staff for example aren’t allowed to drink in Uniform in some parts. The general pettiness of bureaucrats and of course the pandering to Islamists, with some trying to target our drinking culture. I have good bustling neighbourhood pubs and a local sports club, but don’t forget a moderate round can cost upwards of £30 so cost is an issue,especially for the young and skint.