Simple recipes make brilliant pubs

Call it a British pastime, a community stronghold or even a merry haven; the pub is revered as a quintessential part of our culture, and yet, it is dying.
Six pubs die every day in Britain. A stark figure that has left landlords around the country baffled. Is it a change of times, drink culture or merely a temporary sign of harsher times? Hard to tell, but if the latter is true, it is certainly not the case for all drinking establishments. JD Weatherspoons was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin in London. The name, deriving from an old school teacher has now become a high street brand and arguably one of the most successful chains of pubs ever seen in British history. With Lloyds Bars and hotels now part of the companies infrastructure it seems like the only way is up for the free house company, defying the laws of the current market and in many ways curving a culture by using the very essence of it. The recipe seems to be too simple to be successful, but as Ryanair found in 1985 along with many others, it’s not the complexity of a company that makes it flourish, often simple recipes make brilliant companies.
It is within this concept that the inherent ideals of the consumer are really allowed to thrive. Take a look at the pub. A consumer would presumably want good value for money, without implicating the choice they get or the variety. They would be partial to good quality and good service, all housed within a place tailored simply yet elegantly towards their needs. Mr Martin seems to have capped all these traits, and made a move that other pubs seem blind to. He certainly now has the benifit of been a well recognised brand, but that wasn’t the case when he started his first pub in 79 and his empire is still not at maximum capacity.
So what do the landlords say? Well they certainly protest at the prices. Hard to compete with. An article in the New Statesman claimed that the government had “long ago priced the UK's senior citizens out of modern life”. In this way it could be argued Mr Martin was merely providing a solution for overage alcohols- admirable. But In many ways senior citizens moving to Weatherspoons for a more economic way to spend their pension allowance is not anything new. But it does go to show how much of the market they have captured. In an average 15 hour day a Weatherspoons will see the faces of OAPs, all day alcoholics, the work rush, the youthfull clubbing scene and even families looking for a cheap meal out. An article printed in the guardian in 2002 says:
“His formula (of low prices and margins) has brought him handsome rewards and acclaim. But one real ale industry expert says Martin's margins are so low that some microbreweries refuse to deal with Wetherspoon's. And in some areas, the cheap liquor attracts dodgy crowds”
Very true and to all those that have ever ventured into a Weatherspoons you will have surely witnessed. But just like flying with a low cost airline, spending less money often compensates for the overall package. A statement which really amplifies the point being made. While Weatherspoons have been able to exploit a very prominent niche in Britain’s drinking culture, so other pubs could do the same thing. It would be fallacious to presume that everybody fits into this niche, and in many ways I’m sure there are many or most that would like to avoid these sometimes hectic drinking environments. The solution, is to run a business like a business. Forget turning over day by day ordering the same keg that may or may not get used up. Forget writing specials on a chalk board hoping that it will somehow magically collect the attention of an entire village. Find something new, market key strategies and make people search for originality. Pubs around the country that have managed to master this concept have thrived while the rest have died.
It is also true to say that every market has its time. Eventually drinkers in Britain will tire of the overcrowded conditions and overly communal spaces and look for something else. The British pub has an embedded part in our history and will therefore have its time again; they just need to want it.