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In my local Wetherspoons on Wednesday, I noticed a new feature on the menu; Christmas Dinner. Do they offer that every year? I have to admit I spend a lot more time in my local ‘spoons now than I ever used to, as its set in the most awesome building ever (an old cinema) and its big enough so that you don’t have to sit too close to the other, er, ‘patrons’, but I’m sure I would have noticed this before now. I’ve been above the legal drinking age for at least 6 years, there’s no way I would have been that unobservant! And, they even had a veggi option of the meal! Which sounded nice! Some kind of seed/nut, if I remember rightly. Madness. I wonder how it will affect their footfall this year, amidst all this ‘the pub industry is in tatters!’ gossip…
Last year, JD Wetherspoon posted a LfL sales rise of 5.5% for the 12 weeks to January 21st, which isn’t bad considering it was the first Christmas since the smoking ban.
This year, they are relying on real ale, food and coffee to bolster sales, so maybe this Christmas dinner thing is new.
It would be nice to see pub sales increasing a bit more. I’ve no reason to support the industry other than the fact that it’s jolly nice to go to a pub, with a nice fire roaring, for a catch up with friends – especially at Christmas - and that it’s a tradition I believe is important to England. There are ‘traditional English pubs’ all across the world, so don’t let it become a thing of the past; its an ideology the rest of the world is jealous of, and lord knows we don’t have many of those left.
What do you think? Is the pub industry dead? Are supermarket undercutters to blame? Will you be eating out this Christmas? And will it be at a your local ‘spoons!
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