All change for the night-time economy?

Looking back, for a moment, at my recent posts about the Kent village of Lenham, and its two pubs, I mentioned the difficulties I experienced in trying to source a suitable venue, for a lunchtime meet-up, with my friend, John. The brief I set myself was to locate a pub, on or close to the A20 road, between Ashford and Maidstone. It is a highway that holds special memories for me as, until the opening of the M20 “missing link” between the two towns, it formed the principle route for motorists wishing to travel between Ashford and Kent’s county town.

It's a route I would have travelled along numerous times as a youngster, as my parents often visited Maidstone for shopping, or just a look around. As a family, we probably visited Canterbury more, but Maidstone is a town that sticks in my memory. I remember being there, on a bitterly cold, February day, and my parents being drawn to a television, in the window of a shop selling electrical appliances. Day time TV didn’t really exist, back in the mid-1960’s, but on that particular day the state funeral of Sir Winston Churchill took place, and the event was being televised. I expect, Richard Dimbleby was providing the commentary, but we couldn’t hear what was being said, and it was far too cold to be standing around, with noses pressed to the shop window.

Leaving such matters to one side, I carried out my research using a combination of What Pub, and a suitable map from Google. There were several places I was keen to try, and these included a number of pubs situated slightly further away from that A20 guideline.  Unfortunately, as I discovered many of these establishments have turned into upmarket gastropubs, with fancy, and overpriced dishes, dressed up to impress (visually), in order to demonstrate the prowess of a chef that no one has really heard of. The other problem, and one I considered rather more serious, was pubs not opening at lunchtime, even on a Friday; a day where you would think there would be sufficient trade. I was particularly disappointed to find that the Bowl Inn, at Hastingleigh – close to the village where I spent my teenage years, was indicating evening opening only.

The same situation applied to the Blacksmith’s Arms, at Wormshill, high up on the North Downs above Hollingbourne. The neighbouring Ringlestone Inn, whilst open all day, is now a gastropub, under the ownership of Shepherd Neame. This conversion is a real loss to those who love traditional pubs, as when I first moved to Maidstone, it was a simple country pub, albeit with a small restaurant attached. Gravity served, Fremlin’s beers (bitter and Tusker), were the principle attractions, along with the irreplaceable atmosphere that goes with a centuries old inn.

Obviously, times change, and I accept that pubs have to adapt to new situations in order to survive. It is also a given, that providing food is a prerequisite for a successful pub these days, particularly those in isolated rural areas, but why not offer, an alternative, less fussy, and less overblown menu for those who hanker after something simpler, and more down to earth? There are plenty of walkers in the area, and I know from personal experience that the North Downs Way passes through, or close to many of these settlements. 

Despite the doom and gloom, I shall end this section on an upbeat note by reporting that when re-examining this part of the county on What Pub, I was surprised, and also delighted, that only a handful of pubs, in this mid-Kent section of the county have actually closed. A fact that bears witness to the resilience of the licensed trade, despite the many threats it continues to face. Moving away now from the issue of pubs becoming increasingly upmarket, there is another underlining problem that if not addressed could severely curtail or even spell the end of the nighttime economy in its present form.  It was something that my friend John remarked on, during our recent meeting, although it is not a scenario, I have noticed myself - seeing as most of my pub visits are at lunchtime, rather than during the evening. We are talking here about pubs closing early in the evening, sometimes with very little warning. This is something that has become far more common since the pub trade opened back up, following the pandemic.

I can understand this, when a pub persistently suffers from lack of trade after say, 9pm, but when early closing happens as a matter of routine, then the thing becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. There can also be a knock-on effect associated with early closing, although it’s perhaps difficult to know whether there is a deeper underlying cause. The example that John used the other day, was the increasing difficulty of getting a taxi home, following a night out. This isn’t something I’ve noticed personally, as I’m an infrequent user of taxis anyway, and even when I have arrived back in Tonbridge on one of the last trains of the evening, there are normally several taxicabs waiting at the rank.

I also imagine that the absence of taxis is much more an issue in isolated rural areas, even when those communities are served by a regular and reliable train service. It also depends on whether there’s a genuine shortage of properly licensed taxi drivers in a given area. It might just be they aren’t turning up on the rank because they know there will be little or no demand for their services. A classic example of supply and demand. Independently of each other, both John and I placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of the pandemic, where COVID has continued to play a major role in determining people’s behaviour, and indeed altering it. This still seems the case almost two years after the pandemic was officially declared to be over. It’s understandable that after almost three years of changing, and at times conflicting restrictions, many didn’t know where they stood with regard to Coronavirus, so no wonder there was such an adverse effect on the licensed trade.

A woman whom Eileen and I met on a cruise last year, claimed that those three years were effectively stolen from us, without our consent, and they are three years of our lives that we shall never get back. She was right of course, although there was little, we could do about that at the time, and not much since. The upshot is that as well as turning many people into recluses, the pandemic has had a lasting, and in many cases, quite devastating effect on the licensed trade, and the entire hospitality sector as a whole.

Despite this gloomy picture, there does seem to be some signs of recovery in the nighttime economy, and long may this process continue. So, when it comes to your cherished local pub, café or indeed favourite restaurant, please remember the maxim of “Use it, or lose it!”