How long will the great British Pubs last for?

Question

the brewers announced today that the sales of the pint of beer have dropped to 49% in public houses ,but sales in cans/bottles from offsales in supermarkets are up.all this since the great no smoking ban came into effect in public houses,How long do you see the pubs lasting ? or do you think they will amend the law to allow smoking areas to increase the sales of the great British pint

Answer 1

My sister-in-law owned two pubs in Wales until recently. Good thriving ones. The first one had to go 6 months ago at a knock down price, and she has just sold the second. They were bought by property developers as no-one wanted to buy them as going concerns. The smoking ban was a contributory factor, as well as the fact that you can buy beer cheaply in supermarkets. My eldest son has a pub in central London. He has turned it into a gastro pub, as he could not exist on the sale of drink alone. I don't think the government will do a u turn on this. The only reason they would is if they start to realise the amount of revenue they are loosing from tobacco sales, as people are not giving up smoking,but buying from abroad.The price of drinks in pubs will always be more that supermarkets, as the cost of overheads is phenomenal, but some pub owners do go too far!

Answer 2

There is no pub I`ve heard of that`s doing better than before the ban, more and more pubs are shutting down, mostly because some pubs have no facilities outside to put a shelter, also the amount of rent the breweries charge, most breweries now are owned by large companies, 1 is Royal Bank of Scotland, they have no idea how much it really costs to run a pub, years ago when the breweries owned the buildings they understood about the business. there was a poll in the local paper before the ban on how many would frequent pubs now the ban was placed, about 40% of non smokers said they would go out more, we haven`t seen any new faces. It is at the moment the survival of the fittest, yes most pubs will be flattened but you will always be able to find a few around

Answer 3

The pub will last forever. Since the smoking ban, many bars have seen an increase in women going in for a drink, whereas previously they tended to avoid it for too long because the smell of cigarettes got on their clothes. So all their getting ready was in vain.

Also bars that stopped smelling of smoke but other odours came through are probably the ones that are closing down as people realise they have been drinking in a pit.

More and more pubs are having to adapt, and the government realises they have to do something about the binge offers supermarkets are offering and are addressing this issue to the supermarket chiefs in the near future.

Answer 4

There will always be pubs in Britain but as for the great British Pub - their time is limited. The problem is that the big companies are buying up the good ones, removing all individuality, and running them as food houses. The smoking ban hasn't helped and neither has the price of bottles/cans in supermarkets (I leased a pub so had to buy from the leasing company and my drink prices from them were over twice the price of the shops).

It won't be long before only the big companies with their food houses can survive unless something changes soon.

As for amending the smoking ban - it won't happen!

Answer 5

Sadly, I think the great British pub is already dead. I bet you can't tell me of a pub where you can go for a quiet drink. Just that, a quiet drink, WITHOUT wide screen sky sports, quizzes, disco's, one armed bandits flashing and burbing noises at you, pub grub of an evening - To have your nostrils assaulted by the smell of frying chips and steaks and onion rings etc, isn't exactly nice if you're not hungry. Plus family rooms annoy me - there's a time and a place for everything, and kids and pubs don't mix - I don't have kids of my own, why should I have other people's kids foisted upon me when all I want is a quiet pint? - And Although I don't smoke, I think the smoking ban in pubs is wrong too. Sadly, the pubs are to take the blame for pricing themselves out of the market - as you can see, It's a sore point with me!!!

Answer 6

Notice what you wrote was "the sales of the pint of beer have dropped to 49%" that doesn't include other adult beverages. So what we things going on here is media fermongering. Sales across the board have been up for most bars since bans have gone into effect here in the US, but that isn't news. So the media needs to find an angle... Random news reporter says to himself "Beer sales are down, who cares about wine and liquor.. We'll report it as a crisis in the pub world and get a few copies sold." or something like that.

For a good read on the subject (of fear mongering in the media) go pick up the book from Fark.com's creator: It's Not News, It's Fark. A nice quick read, with great insite to mass media and their tactics.

Answer 7

The gov won't go back on the smoking ban
Pubs are selling 14m fewer pints a day than in 1979
Part of the long-term trend has been the move towards drinking at home. In the late 70s, 90% of beer was drunk in pubs, but the figure now stands at 58%

Answer 8

I think there will always be pubs... the fact that pubs have evolved from primitive meeting halls to what they are today is a testement to the fact that people need to socialise. Pubs will survive, though these are quite hard times.

The smoking ban has had effect, but I don't think the law will be amended... the reason it was brought in in the first place was to protect the health of people like myself who work in pubs, but choose not to smoke. I personally appreciate not stinking of other peoples second hand smoke when I come home from work.

I think pubs will continue to evolve, and will find new ways of getting by.... because let's face it... life would be really boring without them.

Answer 9

The only thing that would change the law would be mass disobedience with all smokers lighting cigarettes in pubs at the same time on the same day. Although I stopped smoking 10 years ago, I would once more smoke a cigarette as a symbol of my support, not for smokers, but for the British pub, which is under attack from this government. As we know it, the traditional pub has less than 20 years left, if that.

Answer 10

Since the ban my local pub's trade has doubled.

It is an old fashioned real ale boozer with no food served.

There were always the doom mongers saying that it would not survive but they were proven wrong, the smokers still come but they go outside for a smoke and us ex smokers can enjoy a pint with out being subjected to the fumes.

The law will never be amended.