Pubs adjusting to post-Covid world, managers say

Rhys Vivian said some had recognised that putting on regular events was a good draw in pulling in punters

Pubgoers' habits have changed significantly since the Covid pandemic but they are still visiting their locals, a pub manager said.

Three pub managers in Wokingham, Berkshire, said trade at their venues remained healthy and they had all benefitted from the good weather over the summer.

Rhys Vivian, the manager of the Lord Raglan pub, said some had recognised that putting on regular events was a good draw to pull in punters.

"You can't drag people from their back gardens and into the pub. It's about giving them as many reasons to get them through the doors and think outside the box a bit more," he said.

"Before [Covid] you may not have needed to put those [events] into place," Mr Vivian, whose pub runs weekly steak nights, added.

"You would have enough people coming through the door but people now more than ever are looking to get value for money.

"There are plenty of places they could go over you but it's about making sure that this is the particular place they would want to go to."

Rachel Bell puts on regular charity events to support good causes

Last month, UKHospitality said more than half of the UK's job losses since the last budget came from its sector.

In analysis of Office for National Statistics data, it said job losses in restaurants, bars, pubs and hotels had totalled about 89,000 since October 2024.

Rachel Bell, the pub operator at the Roebuck, said it had benefitted from the recent good weather.

"The sunshine has helped us out with our garden," she added.

Running a "community pub", she tries to put on events that support local charities every month, supporting different good causes each time.

A recent event for the Firefighters Charity was held after a major fire in Bicester, Oxfordshire, which killed two firefighters and a member of the public in May.

William Upton, the general manager of The Rose Inn, said he had noticed people tended to now eat earlier in the evening.

Younger people often want to go out and do another activity at the same time and drinking tends not to be their "priority", he said.

"With the cost of living, people only have so much money to spend and a lot of people now go out as a special occasion," Mr Upton added.