Coffee shops v Pubs – Frothy coffee v pint of beer
More than 2000 coffee shops have opened in Britain in just five years, with some towns now offering more places to get a frothy coffee than a pint of beer, according to a new report.
Between November 2013 and this month, 2158 coffee shops were opened by chain operators and independent owners, according to the new analysis by the retails intelligence firm, Local Data Company.
Meanwhile two pubs have shut for every new café that has opened in Britain in the same period. It seems the cup of coffee has become a cultural icon. People want a place they can go to, between work and home. For many of us, this is now the coffee shop.
It appears that it now socially acceptable to spend a significant part of the day in the coffee shop rather than the pub. You can sit down for a few hours with a group of friends or you can sit alone and get some reading or studying done. These days if you are caught drinking a beer by yourself at 2pm it is not as acceptable as a flat white.
The spread of increased numbers of coffee shops can be seen up and down the country and is unlikely to slow down. Experts predict the number of coffee shops will overtake pubs by 2030.
The Research and Policy Director at the charity Alcohol Change UK, said the rise in the coffee shop represented a cultural shift, with a decline in alcohol consumption among young people. The British Beer & Pub Association said its members were adapting, increasingly offering low-alcohol and alcohol free drinks.
So, it seems to be all change, the premium price that can be charged for espresso based coffee is key, as it can generate enough revenue to provide comfortable spaces that have proved so popular for socialising and work meetings. This just highlights to me a opening for pubs to offer quality coffee throughout the day to aim at these potential customers. Especially for people who are driving.
The one thing coffee shops can not offer is gaming machines (due to the law) and even pool tables or other amusement machines, more down to room. We are always saying it at Comrie – so many pubs and clubs do not have the latest machines on their premises, this means they are missing out on a lot of revenue. We have seen the revenue of our machines go up significantly due to the changes of the bookmakers machines, so don’t miss out. If you would like the latest digital fruit machines in your pub or club call us at Comrie today.