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Pubs Going Down At Alarming Rate.


marsh man
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We still have a good few pubs, still a few clubs (CIU type) and bars.

most of these are food based...

My local (I go at least once a week, soft drinks as I rarely drink these days) is a drinks only pub, same people go all the time, locals, it has a well used look to it 😂

Fosters is £2.60 a pint...

:shaun:

 

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Expensive breweries, changes in culture and prices are all having a big impact. 

 

Any pub that does great food is always busy, many have had to adapt and have been very successful is the casual dining market. 

 

Lots of free hold pubs seem to be well run and very busy, and the owners still seem to be able to make a profit out of them to make it worthwhile. 

 

Sadly the brewery want so much money out of their lease hold  pubs, that for landlords who are skilled enough or willing to put in the amount of work required, it just isn’t worth it after the brewery have had the lions share.

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Whilst I thoroughly a good pint in pleasant surroundings, walking past all the congregated smokers blocking the door, entering a wall of noise, either musical or sport related is not for me.

A successful Public House with well kept beer, not all chilled to the same temperature that lager is served at to hide the taste. Good conversation, a reasonable menu and prices. All these might just see me using them again.

 

They used to be the very centre of their communities, now they are not missed when they close.

 

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A lot of pubs have closed around here - despite there being many many more houses.  I think there are several reasons, but I now rarely visit a pub around home - and this mainly because there is none within walking distance and I am teetotal when I drive .......... and I have yet to find a non alcoholic 'pub' drink I actually enjoy much.  There are a few alcohol frees I can drink, but none with any real enjoyment and the choice in pubs is usually poor.

I do visit, stay in, eat in pubs when I'm away from home - and there are some great pubs about.

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Very few pubs can rely on drink sales alone now, gone are the days its considered the norm to leave the mrs at home with the kids and drink a fair chunk of your wages down the pub every week. When certain pubs close down it is often no surprise....a lot of "good old fashioned pubs" were in the cold light of day ****holes serving poor beer.

Near me all the pubs doing well are restaurant/bars with two separate areas. We have a nice selection within about 10 minute drive but all are a drive away.

My new favorite pub is our village hall on a friday night, £2.50 a drink, lots of regular locals, good conversation and no closing time. We often go for a meal elsewhere and end up back there so i can have a drink as normally drive.

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One of our problems is the town is only busy during the holiday season , in the heyday the town was heaving with visitors during the Summer months then we had the oil and fishing industry in the quieter months to tie the pubs over until it all came to life again the following year .

Now it is nowhere as busy during the peak months , the oil industry is only a small part as it once was and the fishing boats are now just a distant memory.

Add to that the smoking ban and the price of beer in a low wage and in parts a run down area the writing was on the wall .

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On 23/02/2019 at 08:49, henry d said:

Change of culture, pure and simple that is why you have massive pubs delivering cut price alcohol and tiny micro-brewery/pubs, they supply a niche clientelle. We had a brewdog open in town, full of "hipsters" at the weekend and empty throughout the week, we also frequent a really nice village pub when in tyneside called the Boathouse in Wylam. It relies on the CAMRA wins it had along with its proximity to the Newcastle to Carlisle rail line where punters hop on and off to have a beer at the nearby pubs in Wylam Prudhoe etc and even a curry at Corbridge.

Older style pubs need more than just beer to keep customers coming through the door.

I get the train to Prudhoe when I have to go into the office and pass the Boathouse on the route, I'cw never stopped to try it yet but the locals in the Prudhoe office do recommend it.

Where I live most of the pubs that did close down closed about 5 years ago, the ones that didn't close are still going strong, with the exception of the few micro pubs and gin bars that have opened (and seem to be doing well) food seems to be the main selling point now rather than music.

We do seem to have finally caught on to the coffee shop craze and in the last 2 years have had 2 Starbucks, 3 Costas and a number of local independents which all seem to be busy whne some of the pubs aren't

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On 23/02/2019 at 09:02, JDog said:

In the past when I found a beer to my liking (Wadsworths 6x), or a group of people with whom I could have good banter I would be a regular but not frequent visitor.

Times have changed and attitudes have changed and spending priorities have altered course. To me it was obvious years ago that some pubs would not survive.

There is a pub near me in the middle of nowhere which specialises in real ale and hearty and generous food. That place does a roaring trade despite the Landlords miserable character. I suppose his demeanour is part of the charm.

Which pub is that?

Always on the look out for a new pub that serves good food in the Wolds.

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1 hour ago, Deker said:

I get the train to Prudhoe when I have to go into the office and pass the Boathouse on the route, I'cw never stopped to try it yet but the locals in the Prudhoe office do recommend it.

It was better when the old landlord ran it, but that was just his funny demeanour, the beer is top class, the log fire warm in the winter and the beer garden is great during the summer. If you are hungry try the Thai food as the managers wife is Thai and does the cooking, if not pie and mushy peas :P

Its also dog friendly in the bar as long as you don`t let them on the seats.

 

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Edited by henry d
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A previous post mentioned the smoking ban...

I don’t know of anyone that stopped going to the pub because of it.

I think it was the best thing that happened...

No getting up the next morning with the smell of stale tobacco in your clothes...

I remember eating out before the ban and the next table lighting up between each course.

Eventually we asked to be moved to another table just loud enough to be overheard by them.

They weren’t bothered as they didn’t think it was a problem.

:shaun:

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Biggest change to pubs was the 90`s drugs/rave culture, they couldn`t recruit the youngsters. The change was the proliferation of themed and gastro pubs and alcopops to get younger punters in. So we now have a situation where people tend to go, like we did last night, have a couple of drinks and a meal.

This just came up on my facebook feed...

Quote

We'd like to formally announce the closure of Friday nights in the city of Newcastle as a club night. Without being dragged out kicking & screaming for something like Joey *****, Newcastle is now officially "dead" on a Friday after 9pm. Everyone has had their pulled pork,2 bottles of "craft" ale & went home to watch Netflix. In response to this, we have to do something. Hoochie Coochie has decided to formally launch daytime clubbing. We already do so every Sun 4-10pm, now we are launching Newcastle's first, regular, afternoon clubbing session on Saturdays. From March 30th HC launches "Heaven In The Afternoon" . Every Sat from 3pm-8pm playing classic Soul & Funk. At 8pm Quintessential kicks in from 8-2am, playing harder, faster Disco/House & Soul. So, ladies, had lunch with Prosecco & the girls, dumped the hubby at football, get together for daytime clubbing at HC. Prosecco @ £16, double gin Copas at £6 , you'll be rocking your *** off by 7pm 1f642.png:) . Fellas that prefer music to football, you too are welcome. See y'all on the dance-floor!

 

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1 hour ago, shaun4860 said:

A previous post mentioned the smoking ban...

I don’t know of anyone that stopped going to the pub because of it.

I think it was the best thing that happened...

Aye, the smoking ban.  Correlation rather than causation I think, but it can’t have helped.  Those who avoided going out before the ban, due to the smelling like an ashtray thing, didn’t exactly come flooding back post ban. 

Plenty of ‘local’ pubs closing near  me in suburbia in Bristol.  I suspect I’m part of the problem, in that rather than gather in locals, we either have pint or 2 at home, or if we are out, meet more in the centre of town, as friends are scattered to the four winds all over the city.  In 18months we’ve lived here, we’ve been to the ‘locals’ a handful of times. 

And, blimey, some are truly dreadful, Sky Sports blaring at an uncomfortable volume (whether anybody is watching or not), no real beer just lager, the most modern till in the world but cash only, badly behaved children and parents ignoring them, then swearing at them.

If you can’t (or can’t be bothered to) keep a proper pint you have no business being a publican., in my not so humble opinion.

It’s not all bad news however; some of the pubs in the up-and-coming areas outside town centre are thriving. Admittedly some of these are hipster central and some less so.

When I can escape the city and meet people in a country pub, invariably it is busy as hell at the weekend.

Personally, I would love to live in a more rural setting, have a few acres to call my own, and patronise a proper village pub when time allowed, but short of a miracle I won’t be able to make this happen.

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Good pubs don't lose money. Pubs that have been lackadaisical over the past 10 years or so and coasted are suffering or are going out of business. Pubs that care and look after their customers, their beer and their pub tend to have nice steady cashflow and good customer turnover - Their only enemy is the PubCo that may or may not own/lease/rent the premises or the wet goods.

The worst thing to happen to pubs have been the managed houses that were all about profit at the expense of the customer - Shots for a pound and Stella Wednesdays.

Look at the meteoric rise of the micropub - Good beer and good cider at a fair price - No juke box, no telly and no Richard heads.

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19 hours ago, shaun4860 said:

A previous post mentioned the smoking ban...

I don’t know of anyone that stopped going to the pub because of it.

I think it was the best thing that happened...

No getting up the next morning with the smell of stale tobacco in your clothes...

I remember eating out before the ban and the next table lighting up between each course.

Eventually we asked to be moved to another table just loud enough to be overheard by them.

They weren’t bothered as they didn’t think it was a problem.

I stopped going in pubs long before the smoking ban and only started using them again after the ban made them pleasant places to sit and spend an evening.

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