Apparently Britain's pubs are closing down at the rate of 12 per day. Why is this? I never really gave it any serious thought before, but if asked I would have blamed it on supermarkets. Their absurdly cheap booze deals have encouraged everyone to drink their favourite tipple at home. However, I'm not so sure it is the supermarkets' fault. After-all, they sell coffee too, much cheaper than Starbucks, but coffee-bars are everywhere. People are happy to pay vastly inflated prices for a cup of coffee in these places. I don't believe it's the smoking ban either - you can't smoke in Starbucks. I think it's difficult to blame the price of beer or the smoking ban for killing pubs off, so what is the cause? Is it simply the whole idea of going to the pub has become out-dated, non-21st century? Any thoughts?... biddy.
Cheap booze in supermarkets. That and the fact that they are mostly independent businesses, which are suffering with the downturn of the economy.
With fuel bills and everything else soaring, most people are tight on the money at the moment. So, it's obviously cheaper to drink at home. As you say, supermarket's prices for alcohol are extremely low.
How do you explain the fact that coffee is much cheaper to buy in the supermarket and drink at home, but Starbucks doesn't appear to suffer? And it's not a recent phenomenon, 3600 pubs have closed in the last eight years. So it's difficult to blame the downturn/credit-crunch/whatever which is only around a year old, if that.
Starbucks is a huge multi-national corporation. It can take any economic problems a lot better than a single pub, run by one person/family. And Starbucks is "cool" despite the ****tiness of the coffee served there. EDIT: And coffee isn't taxed as heavily as alcohol.
I must agree that Starbucks and thier ilk are not a good example to use. We have them everywhere in Puerto Rico now, and I never thought they would make a dime here. Coffe is brewing in every home in Puerto Rico all day long. It is as deeply intrenched in our culture as tea is in British culture.
A large proportion of pubs are owned by huge corporations e.g. Punch Taverns, Wetherspoons, etc. and run by managers, similar to Starbucks, yet they're still closing down. Punters aren't walking through the doors. I guess my real question should be - why are customers no longer using pubs enough to keep them open? I suspect your suggestion of pubs no longer being "cool" enough is somewhere near the mark. I'm not sure how the amount of tax comes into it.
It's a communist conspiracy! The Reds are trying to eliminate the only good reason to visit England! LOL
Perhaps for the sheer bliss of hearing, "Ladies and gents, we are now leaving England." Sorry folks, the Devil made me say it!
I must admit, Britain has provided me with a few smiles in my lifetime . . . for example, the time when my brother and I watched the "tele" in a small pub in London. On the news, there was a report of a bank robbery caught on videotape. The dastardly crook passed a note about a bomb to the teller, took the money and proceeed to "escape" . . . in his work truck! He was a local plumber and his name was in large letters on the side of his truck. Police said he was drunk when he robbed the bank! Only in England! LOL
You'd love the guy who was arrested for the murder of Jill Dando. His defence was along these lines. 'I couldn't have killed her! I was stalking another woman at the time your honour!'
You're confused Banzai . . . Maggie was the REASON most Brits drank heavily. She was very good for the pubs. I hear her picture on pub walls also caused a three fold increase in dart contests! LOL
