It's predicted that another 400 Brit pubs could close before Christmas, to add to the hundreds that have already closed this year.
So many landlords are throwing in the towel because of rising costs and a dwindling clientele.
Will it affect you?
Factors contributing to pub closures
Rising costs: Pubs are being hit by high energy, food, and drink prices.
Increased taxes and wages: Factors like rising National Insurance contributions and the national living wage are putting pressure on pub finances.
Changes in government support: Reductions in business rate relief and an uncertain future for energy support packages are also major concerns.
Shifting consumer behavior: Some reports indicate a decrease in foot traffic, potentially due to changing drinking habits and more people drinking at home.
Red Okktober said
Nov 19 9:05 PM, 2025
All the fun places that we took for granted in our youth, and were spoiled for choice as to where to go to for a night out, are closing down - pubs, bars, nightclubs etc.
There is definitely a shift amongst generations, with this generation being far more 'sensible' (aka boring) than previous ones. It used to be quite common to spend the night out on the tiles and going into work the next day with no sleep or a hangover - then do it all again the next night.
The hospitality business is on it's knees, and this government is making it far worse with taxes and minimum wage requirements. The life is being sucked out of all the fun things to do.
The future is grey
Syl said
Nov 20 12:02 AM, 2025
On another thread, where Maddog was talking about places to dance, years ago, loads of pubs used to have nights where an act would perform, and space would be made for people to have a dance.
I don't think this happens now.
I worked lunchtimes in a country pub years ago, they had karaoke nights, quiz nights, it was too cramped for dancing, but on the same stretch of road there were two other pubs that were always busy...just one out of the three remain now.
Apart from cost, both for the venue and the customer, I think another reason is so many people spend too much time online...years ago people liked to go out for entertainment, now people play games inside.
Maddog said
Nov 20 4:28 AM, 2025
People are definitely drinking less. For starters, it's quite a bit more to drink now.
One of my local breweries had 5 or 6 dollar pints before covid. Those same pints are over 8 dollars now. Because of our tipping culture, that's basically 10 dollars a pint now. Two hours in that place an I'm already down $40..
And the health effects are pretty clear. It's a toxin and any amount is bad for you to some extent..
For the time being, there is a loophole in TX law and we can drink THC drinks, which are gaining popularity.
As are "mocktails", but those aren't really any cheaper.
And lastly, people aren't as social as they used to be. I think they just stay home except for more special occasions..
Used to be common practice to have a couple on the way home at a local watering hole. I don't think people do that like they used to. Even I don't really do that much anymore. I'm more of weekend only kind of drinker..
Vam said
Nov 20 9:24 AM, 2025
Does anyone agree that the smoking bans might have signalled the beginning of the end for pubs/bars?
Magica said
Nov 20 10:48 AM, 2025
Vam wrote:
Does anyone agree that the smoking bans might have signalled the beginning of the end for pubs/bars?
I was just going to say that Vam. Yes smoking ban saw lots of pubs closed round here. The non smokers who moaned, never used the pubs, they stayed empty.
I used to smoke, got fed up having to go outside in the cold to smoke, many did, so stopped going.
The pub was the hub of family getogethers, quiz night, singers, chat, fun. That's another British tradition that's died.
Syl said
Nov 20 11:20 AM, 2025
Vam wrote:
Does anyone agree that the smoking bans might have signalled the beginning of the end for pubs/bars?
It definitely had a knock on effect so that people chose not to go to pubs. Over the years since the smoking ban was introduced, many places eventually designed outside covered and heating areas in winter, to make it more comfortable to sit outside and smoke, and in a way that encouraged the habit of people sitting outside, made more of a continental feel to many areas, and now some places are totally smoke free, inside and out.
The banning of smoking in public places has worked, but it's taken time.
Syl said
Nov 20 11:26 AM, 2025
Maddog wrote:
People are definitely drinking less. For starters, it's quite a bit more to drink now.
One of my local breweries had 5 or 6 dollar pints before covid. Those same pints are over 8 dollars now. Because of our tipping culture, that's basically 10 dollars a pint now. Two hours in that place an I'm already down $40..
And the health effects are pretty clear. It's a toxin and any amount is bad for you to some extent..
For the time being, there is a loophole in TX law and we can drink THC drinks, which are gaining popularity.
As are "mocktails", but those aren't really any cheaper.
And lastly, people aren't as social as they used to be. I think they just stay home except for more special occasions..
Used to be common practice to have a couple on the way home at a local watering hole. I don't think people do that like they used to. Even I don't really do that much anymore. I'm more of weekend only kind of drinker..
Definitely that.
When I was younger, we had a couple of TV channels to watch or the radio to listen to....that was our home entertainment package, so we went out for entertainment.
Now there are a zillion TV channels, all the latest films on tap, internet games, cheap supermarket drinks, you can meet up with friends online instead of actually making an effort to go out....and younger people just dont seem to have the same energy as the older generations did.
Syl said
Nov 20 11:33 AM, 2025
Magica wrote:
Vam wrote:
Does anyone agree that the smoking bans might have signalled the beginning of the end for pubs/bars?
I was just going to say that Vam. Yes smoking ban saw lots of pubs closed round here. The non smokers who moaned, never used the pubs, they stayed empty.
I used to smoke, got fed up having to go outside in the cold to smoke, many did, so stopped going.
The pub was the hub of family getogethers, quiz night, singers, chat, fun. That's another British tradition that's died.
There were different sorts of pubs. We called some 'Brown Pubs'....the places that men gathered, played darts and cards, smoked like chimneys, drank brown ales and bitter, and women were not allowed in the main room, they were shuffled off to the snug with a small sherry, and ignored.
Where I grew up in Cross Lane, there was a pub like that on every corner, but they allowed working class men to socialise with each other and I think nowadays, many men have lost that ability.
Losing the old fashioned British pub, has in a way damaged society in many ways.
Magica said
Nov 20 1:27 PM, 2025
Syl wrote:
Magica wrote:
Vam wrote:
Does anyone agree that the smoking bans might have signalled the beginning of the end for pubs/bars?
I was just going to say that Vam. Yes smoking ban saw lots of pubs closed round here. The non smokers who moaned, never used the pubs, they stayed empty.
I used to smoke, got fed up having to go outside in the cold to smoke, many did, so stopped going.
The pub was the hub of family getogethers, quiz night, singers, chat, fun. That's another British tradition that's died.
There were different sorts of pubs. We called some 'Brown Pubs'....the places that men gathered, played darts and cards, smoked like chimneys, drank brown ales and bitter, and women were not allowed in the main room, they were shuffled off to the snug with a small sherry, and ignored.
Where I grew up in Cross Lane, there was a pub like that on every corner, but they allowed working class men to socialise with each other and I think nowadays, many men have lost that ability.
Losing the old fashioned British pub, has in a way damaged society in many ways.
It sure has Syl, as I said It was the hub of family, working class life.
Red Okktober said
Nov 20 1:39 PM, 2025
Maddog wrote:
People are definitely drinking less. For starters, it's quite a bit more to drink now.
One of my local breweries had 5 or 6 dollar pints before covid. Those same pints are over 8 dollars now. Because of our tipping culture, that's basically 10 dollars a pint now. Two hours in that place an I'm already down $40..
And the health effects are pretty clear. It's a toxin and any amount is bad for you to some extent..
For the time being, there is a loophole in TX law and we can drink THC drinks, which are gaining popularity.
As are "mocktails", but those aren't really any cheaper.
And lastly, people aren't as social as they used to be. I think they just stay home except for more special occasions..
Used to be common practice to have a couple on the way home at a local watering hole. I don't think people do that like they used to. Even I don't really do that much anymore. I'm more of weekend only kind of drinker..
One of my pet hates is being expected to tip bar staff in a pub just for taking a few minutes to pour a round of drinks (aka 'doing their job) while I wait at the bar. I'm a good tipper for good table service but refuse to tip someone on top of an expensive round just for pouring them out!
Back in the day when everyone paid in cash, you'd hand over a banknote and get handed your change back. If the server was friendly and chatty you might say 'get one for yourself' after a few rounds, but it was entirely spontaneous and done with good intent. I remember the first time I was given my change in a pub, not a swanky bar, on a saucer with a napkin. 'Wtf is going on here' I thought. It's like you are being shamed into saying 'keep the change'
There's a pub near me which we go to when football is being shown on an obscure channel that other pubs don't have, and we would go there more often if it wasn't for the fact that when you tap your card at the bar for a round, they automatically add 10% as a tip, and you have to opt out of paying it, which I always do. Not the best way to attract or keep customers imo.
Red Okktober said
Nov 20 2:01 PM, 2025
Syl wrote:
Definitely that.
When I was younger, we had a couple of TV channels to watch or the radio to listen to....that was our home entertainment package, so we went out for entertainment.
Now there are a zillion TV channels, all the latest films on tap, internet games, cheap supermarket drinks, you can meet up with friends online instead of actually making an effort to go out....and younger people just dont seem to have the same energy as the older generations did.
There are lots of reasons why people stay at home more now - obviously having the internet over a few TV channels is a big one. The cost of home drinking V pub drinking as well. But I feel people are missing out greatly on the social aspect of meeting new people, especially youngsters. Plus there are a lot more 'shut ins' now as well - people who are too 'anxious' to go out, social misfits claiming to have some kind of mental disorder.
Going out 'on the pull' was kind of standard when I was in my teens and 20s. I met most of my partners in a club or pub environment. If you were lucky you'd meet a fit bird, have a few drinks/drugs, dance all night and get sweaty, then take her home as the sun came up. I don't think that happens much any more. It seems to be all dating apps now. The youngsters in my family all seem to carry bottles of water around with them, go the gym several times a week, and dedicate their lives to their jobs. It's commendable, admirable etc, but I don't think it's proper living. They don't know any different though and seem happy enough to live like that.
Syl said
Nov 20 5:58 PM, 2025
/\ Water in one hand, mobile phone in the other...both alien to my generation.
I don't think younger people do 'go out on the pull' any more....they swipe right instead, and probably meet up with someone they wouldn't have looked twice at in the pub.
Syl said
Nov 20 6:25 PM, 2025
I met my OH in a night club, I wasn't on the pull. I was working, rang a cab at 3am to take me home, this cocky lad walked in, winked, said he was my driver....and 50 years on we are still together.
Magica said
Nov 20 6:44 PM, 2025
Syl wrote:
I met my OH in a night club, I wasn't on the pull. I was working, rang a cab at 3am to take me home, this cocky lad walked in, winked, said he was my driver....and 50 years on we are still together.
Maddog said
Nov 20 6:51 PM, 2025
Syl wrote:
/\ Water in one hand, mobile phone in the other...both alien to my generation. I don't think younger people do 'go out on the pull' any more....they swipe right instead, and probably meet up with someone they wouldn't have looked twice at in the pub.
They still meet in bars, but the spontaneous one night stands aren't as common.
They meet, exchange info for a future encounter and then rarely act upon that initial meeting.
The single life is weird. I'm not in the younger scene per se, but I'm an observer of the rituals.
One thing that's for certain, younger men are confused as hell and they are a bit leary of women, especially face to face.
While I'm not "pulling" younger girls (20 somethings), I know quite a few casually and they are a bit exasperated with younger men too.
And it sort of depends on the environment.
I can ask a girl to dance in the Stockyards, take her by the hand and lead her to the dance floor without those girls batting an eye.
Try that in a hipster part of town, to a girl with blue hair and a pierced septum, and she might accuse you of assault..
Which is why young men retreat to the safety of swiping left or right. It may not be productive, but it's not publicly humiliating..
Syl said
Nov 20 7:04 PM, 2025
Maddog wrote:
Syl wrote:
/\ Water in one hand, mobile phone in the other...both alien to my generation. I don't think younger people do 'go out on the pull' any more....they swipe right instead, and probably meet up with someone they wouldn't have looked twice at in the pub.
They still meet in bars, but the spontaneous one night stands aren't as common.
They meet, exchange info for a future encounter and then rarely act upon that initial meeting.
The single life is weird. I'm not in the younger scene per se, but I'm an observer of the rituals.
One thing that's for certain, younger men are confused as hell and they are a bit leary of women, especially face to face.
While I'm not "pulling" younger girls (20 somethings), I know quite a few casually and they are a bit exasperated with younger men too.
And it sort of depends on the environment.
I can ask a girl to dance in the Stockyards, take her by the hand and lead her to the dance floor without those girls batting an eye.
Try that in a hipster part of town, to a girl with blue hair and a pierced septum, and she might accuse you of assault..
Which is why young men retreat to the safety of swiping left or right. It may not be productive, but it's not publicly humiliating..
Young men used to expect to be publicly humiliated, it was all part of the dating schedule.
I can't imagine anything more humiliating for a young man, than to walk across a room, ask a girl to dance, she refuses, and he has to walk back again.
Women may be more liberated now, but they have always had the upper hand really, when it comes to picking and choosing a mate.
Maddog said
Nov 20 7:22 PM, 2025
Syl wrote:
Maddog wrote:
Syl wrote:
/\ Water in one hand, mobile phone in the other...both alien to my generation. I don't think younger people do 'go out on the pull' any more....they swipe right instead, and probably meet up with someone they wouldn't have looked twice at in the pub.
They still meet in bars, but the spontaneous one night stands aren't as common.
They meet, exchange info for a future encounter and then rarely act upon that initial meeting.
The single life is weird. I'm not in the younger scene per se, but I'm an observer of the rituals.
One thing that's for certain, younger men are confused as hell and they are a bit leary of women, especially face to face.
While I'm not "pulling" younger girls (20 somethings), I know quite a few casually and they are a bit exasperated with younger men too.
And it sort of depends on the environment.
I can ask a girl to dance in the Stockyards, take her by the hand and lead her to the dance floor without those girls batting an eye.
Try that in a hipster part of town, to a girl with blue hair and a pierced septum, and she might accuse you of assault..
Which is why young men retreat to the safety of swiping left or right. It may not be productive, but it's not publicly humiliating..
Young men used to expect to be publicly humiliated, it was all part of the dating schedule.
I can't imagine anything more humiliating for a young man, than to walk across a room, ask a girl to dance, she refuses, and he has to walk back again.
Women may be more liberated now, but they have always had the upper hand really, when it comes to picking and choosing a mate.
I've always said they had the real power, at least when they are young. You got something we want..
I think years ago, us men didn't have any options. We either steeled ourselves for rejection or had zero chance for a social life. But usually the rejection was polite. Now there's a significant number of women that take offense to men even approaching them.
So now, a lot of men play it safe..
And like I said before, it sort of all depends on where you are. There is still a huge number of women that still expect traditional roles for men and women (without all of the uber toxic shit), at least around here.
Like, it's still more common than not for a man to remove his hat when greeting a lady.
Do that to a girl from California and she will think you are a retarded caveman or the sweetest thing ever..
Red Okktober said
Nov 20 7:46 PM, 2025
Syl wrote:
I can't imagine anything more humiliating for a young man, than to walk across a room, ask a girl to dance, she refuses, and he has to walk back again.
LoL
I don't think I ever asked a girl for a dance since the school disco, and that was always for a 'slow dance' at the end of the night, when you kind of embraced and rocked around in small circles in total silence
I can't imagine having to do that as an adult and ask a stranger to dance to fast music - what if one of you is a really shit dancer - how long before you retreat back to your friends? I think that would be even worse than being refused
Vam said
Nov 20 8:28 PM, 2025
I’m reading through this thread (& LOL-ing a bit too). But it’s actually startling to realise quite how much getting out and socialising has changed over the years - and not necessarily for the good.
As the fabulous Prince Rogers Nelson used to sing, ‘Let a woman be a woman and a man be a man’, simply is the way it has always worked best since time immemorial. It’s just the natural order of things, imo 💁🏻♀️
Sadly these days, guys need to learn how to man-up. And women need to be much less uptight and less easily offended. Way too many navel-gazing neurotics are walking among us.
It's predicted that another 400 Brit pubs could close before Christmas, to add to the hundreds that have already closed this year.
So many landlords are throwing in the towel because of rising costs and a dwindling clientele.
Will it affect you?
There is definitely a shift amongst generations, with this generation being far more 'sensible' (aka boring) than previous ones. It used to be quite common to spend the night out on the tiles and going into work the next day with no sleep or a hangover - then do it all again the next night.
The hospitality business is on it's knees, and this government is making it far worse with taxes and minimum wage requirements. The life is being sucked out of all the fun things to do.
The future is grey
I don't think this happens now.
I worked lunchtimes in a country pub years ago, they had karaoke nights, quiz nights, it was too cramped for dancing, but on the same stretch of road there were two other pubs that were always busy...just one out of the three remain now.
Apart from cost, both for the venue and the customer, I think another reason is so many people spend too much time online...years ago people liked to go out for entertainment, now people play games inside.
One of my local breweries had 5 or 6 dollar pints before covid. Those same pints are over 8 dollars now. Because of our tipping culture, that's basically 10 dollars a pint now. Two hours in that place an I'm already down $40..
And the health effects are pretty clear. It's a toxin and any amount is bad for you to some extent..
For the time being, there is a loophole in TX law and we can drink THC drinks, which are gaining popularity.
As are "mocktails", but those aren't really any cheaper.
And lastly, people aren't as social as they used to be. I think they just stay home except for more special occasions..
Used to be common practice to have a couple on the way home at a local watering hole. I don't think people do that like they used to. Even I don't really do that much anymore. I'm more of weekend only kind of drinker..
Does anyone agree that the smoking bans might have signalled the beginning of the end for pubs/bars?
I was just going to say that Vam. Yes smoking ban saw lots of pubs closed round here. The non smokers who moaned, never used the pubs, they stayed empty.
I used to smoke, got fed up having to go outside in the cold to smoke, many did, so stopped going.
The pub was the hub of family getogethers, quiz night, singers, chat, fun. That's another British tradition that's died.
It definitely had a knock on effect so that people chose not to go to pubs. Over the years since the smoking ban was introduced, many places eventually designed outside covered and heating areas in winter, to make it more comfortable to sit outside and smoke, and in a way that encouraged the habit of people sitting outside, made more of a continental feel to many areas, and now some places are totally smoke free, inside and out.
The banning of smoking in public places has worked, but it's taken time.
Definitely that.
When I was younger, we had a couple of TV channels to watch or the radio to listen to....that was our home entertainment package, so we went out for entertainment.
Now there are a zillion TV channels, all the latest films on tap, internet games, cheap supermarket drinks, you can meet up with friends online instead of actually making an effort to go out....and younger people just dont seem to have the same energy as the older generations did.
There were different sorts of pubs. We called some 'Brown Pubs'....the places that men gathered, played darts and cards, smoked like chimneys, drank brown ales and bitter, and women were not allowed in the main room, they were shuffled off to the snug with a small sherry, and ignored.
Where I grew up in Cross Lane, there was a pub like that on every corner, but they allowed working class men to socialise with each other and I think nowadays, many men have lost that ability.
Losing the old fashioned British pub, has in a way damaged society in many ways.
It sure has Syl, as I said It was the hub of family, working class life.
One of my pet hates is being expected to tip bar staff in a pub just for taking a few minutes to pour a round of drinks (aka 'doing their job) while I wait at the bar. I'm a good tipper for good table service but refuse to tip someone on top of an expensive round just for pouring them out!
Back in the day when everyone paid in cash, you'd hand over a banknote and get handed your change back. If the server was friendly and chatty you might say 'get one for yourself' after a few rounds, but it was entirely spontaneous and done with good intent. I remember the first time I was given my change in a pub, not a swanky bar, on a saucer with a napkin. 'Wtf is going on here' I thought. It's like you are being shamed into saying 'keep the change'
There's a pub near me which we go to when football is being shown on an obscure channel that other pubs don't have, and we would go there more often if it wasn't for the fact that when you tap your card at the bar for a round, they automatically add 10% as a tip, and you have to opt out of paying it, which I always do. Not the best way to attract or keep customers imo.
There are lots of reasons why people stay at home more now - obviously having the internet over a few TV channels is a big one. The cost of home drinking V pub drinking as well. But I feel people are missing out greatly on the social aspect of meeting new people, especially youngsters. Plus there are a lot more 'shut ins' now as well - people who are too 'anxious' to go out, social misfits claiming to have some kind of mental disorder.
Going out 'on the pull' was kind of standard when I was in my teens and 20s. I met most of my partners in a club or pub environment. If you were lucky you'd meet a fit bird, have a few drinks/drugs, dance all night and get sweaty, then take her home as the sun came up. I don't think that happens much any more. It seems to be all dating apps now. The youngsters in my family all seem to carry bottles of water around with them, go the gym several times a week, and dedicate their lives to their jobs. It's commendable, admirable etc, but I don't think it's proper living. They don't know any different though and seem happy enough to live like that.
I don't think younger people do 'go out on the pull' any more....they swipe right instead, and probably meet up with someone they wouldn't have looked twice at in the pub.
I met my OH in a night club, I wasn't on the pull. I was working, rang a cab at 3am to take me home, this cocky lad walked in, winked, said he was my driver....and 50 years on we are still together.
They still meet in bars, but the spontaneous one night stands aren't as common.
They meet, exchange info for a future encounter and then rarely act upon that initial meeting.
The single life is weird. I'm not in the younger scene per se, but I'm an observer of the rituals.
One thing that's for certain, younger men are confused as hell and they are a bit leary of women, especially face to face.
While I'm not "pulling" younger girls (20 somethings), I know quite a few casually and they are a bit exasperated with younger men too.
And it sort of depends on the environment.
I can ask a girl to dance in the Stockyards, take her by the hand and lead her to the dance floor without those girls batting an eye.
Try that in a hipster part of town, to a girl with blue hair and a pierced septum, and she might accuse you of assault..
Which is why young men retreat to the safety of swiping left or right. It may not be productive, but it's not publicly humiliating..
Young men used to expect to be publicly humiliated, it was all part of the dating schedule.
I can't imagine anything more humiliating for a young man, than to walk across a room, ask a girl to dance, she refuses, and he has to walk back again.
Women may be more liberated now, but they have always had the upper hand really, when it comes to picking and choosing a mate.
I've always said they had the real power, at least when they are young. You got something we want..
I think years ago, us men didn't have any options. We either steeled ourselves for rejection or had zero chance for a social life. But usually the rejection was polite. Now there's a significant number of women that take offense to men even approaching them.
So now, a lot of men play it safe..
And like I said before, it sort of all depends on where you are. There is still a huge number of women that still expect traditional roles for men and women (without all of the uber toxic shit), at least around here.
Like, it's still more common than not for a man to remove his hat when greeting a lady.
Do that to a girl from California and she will think you are a retarded caveman or the sweetest thing ever..
LoL
I don't think I ever asked a girl for a dance since the school disco, and that was always for a 'slow dance' at the end of the night, when you kind of embraced and rocked around in small circles in total silence
I can't imagine having to do that as an adult and ask a stranger to dance to fast music - what if one of you is a really shit dancer - how long before you retreat back to your friends? I think that would be even worse than being refused
I’m reading through this thread (& LOL-ing a bit too). But it’s actually startling to realise quite how much getting out and socialising has changed over the years - and not necessarily for the good.
As the fabulous Prince Rogers Nelson used to sing, ‘Let a woman be a woman and a man be a man’, simply is the way it has always worked best since time immemorial. It’s just the natural order of things, imo 💁🏻♀️
Sadly these days, guys need to learn how to man-up. And women need to be much less uptight and less easily offended. Way too many navel-gazing neurotics are walking among us.
I blame the freaking internet (again)