Our Local is Waving The White Flag
Discussion
Our village pub changed licensee about a year ago. The new tenant lives about 30 miles away and commutes in to work in the kitchen daytimes. She’s rarely seen in the evenings.
I arranged to meet a friend in the pub ant 7:30 yesterday, Saturday evening. The beer was good, the service was good and a few locals in the pub. Then inexplicably the staff called last orders at 7:55 pm!!! Apparently they’d been told to close if there were less than 5 people in the bar. Someone arrived at 8pm to be told that last orders had been called. Anyone arriving after then would have found the pub locked and very closed.
I don’t know the answer but it seems that our local is hoisting the white flag. very sad.
I arranged to meet a friend in the pub ant 7:30 yesterday, Saturday evening. The beer was good, the service was good and a few locals in the pub. Then inexplicably the staff called last orders at 7:55 pm!!! Apparently they’d been told to close if there were less than 5 people in the bar. Someone arrived at 8pm to be told that last orders had been called. Anyone arriving after then would have found the pub locked and very closed.
I don’t know the answer but it seems that our local is hoisting the white flag. very sad.
Master Bean said:
A pub I go to sometimes would close early in January if there weren't many people in. Seems dry January also means people don't go to the pub for a soft drink.
Yes, I know a few pubs that close at 10pm when not busy but this was last orders at 7:55 on a Saturday evening FFS. 
Master Bean said:
A pub I go to sometimes would close early in January if there weren't many people in. Seems dry January also means people don't go to the pub for a soft drink.
Unless the really want the social aspect, the cost of soft drinks in most pubs is crazy really for what it is. It’s simply not worth it. Thing is now, would you bother going again? Turn up at 19:30 and they might shut very early again.
So people will stop going if they think it will close early.
Ive always found that shutting the door early if you dont have any customers is a guaranteed way to ensure you dont have any customers at all.
So people will stop going if they think it will close early.
Ive always found that shutting the door early if you dont have any customers is a guaranteed way to ensure you dont have any customers at all.
My village pub closes early if there's no one in, they don't cover the heating bill if no one turns up let alone staff wages.
They need to massively increase the tax on supermarket drinks and reduce it on pub ones. Getting ridiculous £7 a pint for some beers in the pub when you can get a 10 pack of the same beer for a tenner in the supermarket.
They need to massively increase the tax on supermarket drinks and reduce it on pub ones. Getting ridiculous £7 a pint for some beers in the pub when you can get a 10 pack of the same beer for a tenner in the supermarket.
Edited by Sheets Tabuer on Monday 23 February 08:36
Unless there is a local social group that you are part of going to the pub for average to bad food and to drink a few beers at treble the cost… well people just drink at home instead.
The pub needs to reinvent it self, but it could use some help.
Times are changing with working from home, online shopping etc. the social interactions are reducing. On top of that people are more drink aware so probably drink less.
The pub needs to reinvent it self, but it could use some help.
Times are changing with working from home, online shopping etc. the social interactions are reducing. On top of that people are more drink aware so probably drink less.
snuffy said:
Thing is now, would you bother going again? Turn up at 19:30 and they might shut very early again.
So people will stop going if they think it will close early.
Ive always found that shutting the door early if you dont have any customers is a guaranteed way to ensure you dont have any customers at all.
Completely agree, a false economy when it removes your customers one by one.So people will stop going if they think it will close early.
Ive always found that shutting the door early if you dont have any customers is a guaranteed way to ensure you dont have any customers at all.
This is when having an actual landlord, on premise, makes the difference..
Sheets Tabuer said:
They need to massively increase the tax on supermarket drinks and reduce it on pub ones. Getting ridiculous £7 a pint for some beers in the pub when you can get a 10 pack of the same beer for a tenner in the supermarket.
I sympathise with this view. Pubs have been part of British culture for centuries but the government won't lift a finger to help them. It seems to prefer to allow the oligopoly of supermarkets to hoover up all the business and suck the life out of our villages and town centres.ettore said:
Completely agree, a false economy when it removes your customers one by one.
This is when having an actual landlord, on premise, makes the difference..
One of the pubs that a group of mates used to go to developed a habit of closing early because it wasn't very busy. The couple that ran the place lived on the premises, so I could see that it would make financial sense for them to send the staff home, but I couldn't see why they didn't see out the last couple of hours until closing time themselves. They did the "you can have one drink, but then it's last orders" on us twice before we started going elsewhere. That was a pub in a small village, the closest pubs were all similar small villages, so once they'd closed there was nowhere else to go locally. At least in towns there's usually somewhere else to try. Last I heard the couple have moved on, there are new people in there now.This is when having an actual landlord, on premise, makes the difference..
we haven't seen anything yet, pubs will be closing in huge numbers in a short space of time.
supermarket power, public apathy, drinking trends, delivery apps and government misunderstanding is the perfect storm.
why go out and socialise with people, when you can sit at home in your joggers, mash a few buttons for delivery and watch endless AI slop on a device, or watch people watching TV on TV.
supermarket power, public apathy, drinking trends, delivery apps and government misunderstanding is the perfect storm.
why go out and socialise with people, when you can sit at home in your joggers, mash a few buttons for delivery and watch endless AI slop on a device, or watch people watching TV on TV.
droopsnoot said:
ettore said:
Completely agree, a false economy when it removes your customers one by one.
This is when having an actual landlord, on premise, makes the difference..
One of the pubs that a group of mates used to go to developed a habit of closing early because it wasn't very busy. The couple that ran the place lived on the premises, so I could see that it would make financial sense for them to send the staff home, but I couldn't see why they didn't see out the last couple of hours until closing time themselves. They did the "you can have one drink, but then it's last orders" on us twice before we started going elsewhere. That was a pub in a small village, the closest pubs were all similar small villages, so once they'd closed there was nowhere else to go locally. At least in towns there's usually somewhere else to try. Last I heard the couple have moved on, there are new people in there now.This is when having an actual landlord, on premise, makes the difference..
wiggy001 said:
droopsnoot said:
ettore said:
Completely agree, a false economy when it removes your customers one by one.
This is when having an actual landlord, on premise, makes the difference..
One of the pubs that a group of mates used to go to developed a habit of closing early because it wasn't very busy. The couple that ran the place lived on the premises, so I could see that it would make financial sense for them to send the staff home, but I couldn't see why they didn't see out the last couple of hours until closing time themselves. They did the "you can have one drink, but then it's last orders" on us twice before we started going elsewhere. That was a pub in a small village, the closest pubs were all similar small villages, so once they'd closed there was nowhere else to go locally. At least in towns there's usually somewhere else to try. Last I heard the couple have moved on, there are new people in there now.This is when having an actual landlord, on premise, makes the difference..
tamore said:
wiggy001 said:
droopsnoot said:
ettore said:
Completely agree, a false economy when it removes your customers one by one.
This is when having an actual landlord, on premise, makes the difference..
One of the pubs that a group of mates used to go to developed a habit of closing early because it wasn't very busy. The couple that ran the place lived on the premises, so I could see that it would make financial sense for them to send the staff home, but I couldn't see why they didn't see out the last couple of hours until closing time themselves. They did the "you can have one drink, but then it's last orders" on us twice before we started going elsewhere. That was a pub in a small village, the closest pubs were all similar small villages, so once they'd closed there was nowhere else to go locally. At least in towns there's usually somewhere else to try. Last I heard the couple have moved on, there are new people in there now.This is when having an actual landlord, on premise, makes the difference..
Hey presto - flats.
wiggy001 said:
Exactly my experience of my local which I no longer frequent as you never know whether you'll have enough time to down a pint let alone have a few drinks. Some pub managers/landlords really do themselves no favours.
I was in a small pub just a few days before Christmas (year before last). Normally, it does close in the afternoon, but at around 2 ish it was very busy. I was thinking that I know they do close in the afternoon, but surely they are not going to close the lose all this trade? Nope, they stopped serving. Gassing Station | Food, Drink & Restaurants | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff