Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin blames “dinner party classes” for pubs crisis

what they should be blaming is dating apps and inflation

Thats cool.

I blame not having enough spare cash, and also not having enough time or energy after working long hours for crappy pay. Which also means I would rather spend what little cash and time of have with my family than going to the pub. Even though I love going to the pub with a few mates and having a good laugh. A few pence off beer prices through reduced VAT isn’t going to change that.

Last week the bellend from Brewdog was moaning that we are all workshy and not working hard enough or long enough hours. Now another bellend from the industry is moaning that we don’t go to pubs enough.

The rich have rinsed the working classes and are now confused why they aren’t spending money.

What he actually says for those who read the trading statement is MPs are basically leaving the hospitality industry to flounder, as they themselves very rarely step inside pubs, so they have no idea what is going on ATM and are viewing from afar. He again attacks VAT free/low alcohol at supermarkets.

The financial results for wetherspoons are actually very positive, so his comments aren’t about that. But the wider industry is struggling which is what his comments relate to, as Tim Martin does see himself as the spokesman, but tbf, spoons have been very successful with their business model.

Perhaps the continuing fallout from Brexit is affecting his trade?

Now remind me, who was championing the benefits of brexit on his beer mats?

I love the pub as much as the next brit but i am fully here for the downfall of spoons and Tim Martin

Ho ho! Eat in a pub and pay nearly as much for a glass of wine as an pretty okay _bottle_ of plonk at home with friends over a takeaway… I Don’t think it’s the chattering classes driving the pub exodus.

Why not blame his beloved Brexit that made us all poorer?

Rich man who got rich by paying staff as little as possible complains that poor people don’t have spare money.

I make a point of not going to Wetherspoons. Even if I’m invited to go, or the group I’m with goes to his pub, I refuse. Haven’t been in one since before Brexit, and I will try and actively dissuade people from going there. The amount of economic damage he and his ilk did to this country is immense and to have the audacity to blame us for the consequences of their action is infuriating.

Fuck this guy.

You could ask Tim Wetherspoons about the weather and he would go off on how he should pay less tax.

Hey Tim, got any weekend plans? “Oh my poor struggling chain of 800+ shitty soulless pubs pay far too much tax, woe is me, how will I survive?”

Support small, locally owned pubs . Who gives a crap what this plank thinks !

I don’t like the fella and I don’t think he’s the right person to deliver this sort of statement, but I do think we are very quickly creating for ourselves a very alienated culture devoid of virtually all third spaces, and where going out and meeting people is seen as some type of luxury consumer product.

The pub crisis has been going on for what, 10 or 15 years now?

The humble pub is facing the same problem as the high street, as all business ventures have done since the dawn of time. Consumer behaviour changes as society advances.

When I do go out, Wetherspoons is a popular destination. It’s cheap, the food is good, the drinks are good, I can use the app and don’t have to try and carry 8 pints back to my table. It’s great.

The issue, as Tim identifies, is that we aren’t going out. The pub was at it’s most popular when home life was at its most dull. But adults now have enough to do at home. People would genuinely rather spend 1 or 2 hours doomscrolling their social media feed than getting up, walking to the local and having a couple of drinks with a friend.

Covid demonstrated just how fine we all are sitting at home all day every day. The era of social drinking is over, probably forever.

I don’t go in his pubs because he’s an absolute whopper, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. I’m not sure he possesses the level of self-reflection required to realise some of his pain is self-inflicted though.

The beer i want to drink costs a fortune. These rich tossers really grind my gears

When pubs were truly flourishing it was largely based on men drinking to not be at home.

Of course as women got a bit more agency they went to pubs to fill in some of that gap.

The reality is that I could afford to go to the pub after work, have a couple of pints, nip home, eat my tea and head back out for a few more. I just don’t want to. Even if it was £2 a pint lots of people would be the same. My grandfather’s choices were pub or wireless and wife. I’m fortunate to have more.

And I like pubs and think the good government should be doing more for them, particularly in areas lacking other communal facilities,, but acting like price is the only driver behind people’s changing behaviour is silly.

A dwindling number of people drinking more because it’s cheaper can’t be the right lifeline.

I still think the fella looks like a Thundercat after years of meth abuse. Clearly it got his brain too (as if that was ever in doubt)

Spoons is great as a product. I sometimes take my kids there on a Saturdar morning after swimming as we can all get a breakfast for less than £10 in total. And not just a fry up – the Fiesta Brunch is cracking.

But – the problem is many people have cut back and back so much across the board that even the cheapest of a non-essential is way too much.

How strange. I blame him for destroying the British pub and replacing it with a soulless vault of human misery. I guess we are all entitled to our opinions.