20 Aug 2010

Drying up... but pubs are still wet at heart

Autumn20beer2020food
You might have noticed a new stat flying around suggesting that, on average, 52% of a pub's takings now come from food. This is plainly wrong. A business that's 50% food is not an average pub, and is still numbered among a small minority.
Nevertheless, 'dry take', as the trade calls it, is certainly becoming more important. Only today Mitchells & Butlers, the biggest managed pubco in the country, announced it had sold off 333 pubs that were, to sum it up, too wet.
M&B has found selling food is more profitable than selling drink, and that's even more true for the majority of pubs that are leased or tenanted and can make very little out of beer because of the 'tie' which forces them to buy it at an inflated price from their landlord.
Despite that someone has bought those 333 wet pubs, the vast majority of pubs continue to be wet-led, and even gastropub operators know that they need a substantial drinks trade in order to generate the informal pub atmosphere those who come to eat are looking for.
To survive today, pubs have to be more than boozers. But drink, specifically beer, is still at the warmly beating heart of what makes a great pub.