The Irish Pub is finished.

Corben Dallas

Pubs who want to offer a with food option so that they can open ( talking old style/not normally offering food until now) should offer

2 Pints + choice of Gourmet pie with mash & gravy.
(Steak, Chicken and Mushroom, Ham &Mushroom + Veggie/vegan option)

€ 15 job done.

*Oh and not cheap pies, decent size made by a specialist pie company. ie a 'GOURMET' pie.

Would be easy to set up on one table.(Microwave, Plates, Cutlery, Napkins)
Only difficult thing would be the hot plate containers for mash & gravy.

Ultima Thule

I think Covid has sorted many a complaint from bar staff, of the paying customers who only turn up 30 minutes before closing, to avail of delayed last orders. Pros and cons and all that.

KiKi III

I come from a small town that when I was in school had one supermarket, one church, one post office, one secondary school and 13 pubs and a night club that was open every weekend.

These days only five or six of the pubs are open and the nightclub only opens on some bank holidays/ Christmas.

You could look at that a few ways, my take is we were wildly over served in the early 00s. No town that small needed 13 pubs.

daveville30

ShatterAlan wrote: »

I discovered the joys of drinking by the canals in Amsterdam during the lockdown. The biggest downside was that there was nowhere to take a p1ss. All places closed and all the portable loos in the city were taken away. So we had to stay close to my gaff in order to run in and use the bog.

Few tins of stella from a vending machine?

ShatterAlan

Jimmy Garlic wrote: »

Baloney. You think pubs that offered free canapés like wings and cocktail sausages before all this had all that gear out the back? You can bet your life they didn’t.

Either they had a kitchen to prepare it or they had a catering company bring it in.


How do you think they prepared wings and cocktail sausages without a kitchen? I'm dying to know? You think they can store boxes of magic chicken wings, which never rot, in the basement with the kegs and then these wings just cook themselves when you click your fingers and arrange themselves on a plate?

Galwayguy35

The village I live in had 7 pubs 20 years ago and this year 3 were still open.

The future is bleak for 2 of them which were rented out, hard to see how they could make money with only a few people allowed in.

Sunny Disposition

Pubs have been dying for probably 20 years, since drink driving got more serious. The Celtic Tiger boom papered over the problem for a while, but it became very apparent during the recession. People have other things to do now, Netflix, Sky Sports TV at home, treadmills, internet freely available, online dating, the pub will never be as central to life again as it once was. Some will survive though, just won't be as many, there won't be small villages with six or seven pubs.

Jimmy Garlic

ShatterAlan wrote: »

Either they had a kitchen to prepare it or they had a catering company bring it in.


How do you think they prepared wings and cocktail sausages without a kitchen? I'm dying to know? You think they can store boxes of magic chicken wings, which never rot, in the basement with the kegs and then these wings just cook themselves when you click your fingers and arrange themselves on a plate?

Probably in the domestic kitchen as most pubs, especially rural ones have the proprietors living on site. Freezer and a fryer, nothing complicated about it and the chances of poisonings are slim. All pubs have to offer food I believe, it’s a condition of the licence, correct me if I’m wrong.

ShatterAlan

Corben Dallas wrote: »

Pubs who want to offer a with food option so that they can open ( talking old style/not normally offering food until now) should offer

2 Pints + choice of Gourmet pie with mash & gravy.
(Steak, Chicken and Mushroom, Ham &Mushroom + Veggie/vegan option)

€ 15 job done.

*Oh and not cheap pies, decent size made by a specialist pie company. ie a 'GOURMET' pie.

Would be easy to set up on one table.(Microwave, Plates, Cutlery, Napkins)
Only difficult thing would be the hot plate containers for mash & gravy.

You still need a large fridge to store all these gourmet pies. Also the gravy is a meat product. And I don't know if pies are microwaveable. You can't microwave a pizza, can you. It turns to rubber. Just imagine how you would feed guests in your living room if your house didn't have a kitchen?

ShatterAlan

Corben Dallas wrote: »

Pubs who want to offer a with food option so that they can open ( talking old style/not normally offering food until now) should offer

2 Pints + choice of Gourmet pie with mash & gravy.
(Steak, Chicken and Mushroom, Ham &Mushroom + Veggie/vegan option)

€ 15 job done.

*Oh and not cheap pies, decent size made by a specialist pie company. ie a 'GOURMET' pie.

Would be easy to set up on one table.(Microwave, Plates, Cutlery, Napkins)
Only difficult thing would be the hot plate containers for mash & gravy.

Without a kitchen it will be difficult.

Corben Dallas

ShatterAlan wrote: »

Without a kitchen it will be difficult.

Key to it is that they have to be Mircowave-able... and would need large fridge for all food storage... should be doable. Kitchen gives you much more options of course, some pubs don't have them.

Riddle101

Maybe pubs should start a delivery service. Instead of going to the shop and buying your drink, you can send out for some fresh pints on delivery. It might allow them to reopen.

KiKi III

Riddle101 wrote: »

Maybe pubs should start a delivery service. Instead of going to the shop and buying your drink, you can send out for some fresh pints on delivery. It might allow them to reopen.

McSorley’s in Ranelagh is already doing this among others.

JohnnyFlash

Can’t wait for my local to reopen. I’ll be heading down there for a feed of turkey and ham, and a dozen pints of fresh stout for dessert.

ShatterAlan

KiKi III wrote: »

I come from a small town that when I was in school had one supermarket, one church, one post office, one secondary school and 13 pubs and a night club that was open every weekend.

These days only five or six of the pubs are open and the nightclub only opens on some bank holidays/ Christmas.

You could look at that a few ways, my take is we were wildly over served in the early 00s. No town that small needed 13 pubs.

Well it does if you want to do the 12 pubs of Christmas.

ShatterAlan

daveville30 wrote: »

Few tins of stella from a vending machine?

Can't get beer from a vending machine in Holland. You have to go to the supermarket or the night-shop which is open till 2am.


Funnily enough you can scan beer at the self service checkout and not need id. A 10-year old could buy a six-pack. He would need a bank card though.

mikeecho

The Irish pub died long ago, with plasma TVs, mobile phones and WiFi.

I rarely go to the pub, but when I do, I go to one without a TV , without WiFi, and where phones are discouraged.

Drinking, and chatting to strangers, a bar man that can hold a conversation and is a bit of craic, . that's what it's all about.

A rarity these days, even before covid

ShatterAlan

Sunny Disposition wrote: »

Pubs have been dying for probably 20 years, since drink driving got more serious. The Celtic Tiger boom papered over the problem for a while, but it became very apparent during the recession. People have other things to do now, Netflix, Sky Sports TV at home, treadmills, internet freely available, online dating, the pub will never be as central to life again as it once was. Some will survive though, just won't be as many, there won't be small villages with six or seven pubs.

None of which provide the ability to engage in real conversation with real people.



"I've just been paid and I'm feeling like a few drinks and going on the pull, what's on Netflix?"

For Forks Sake

Riddle101 wrote: »

Maybe pubs should start a delivery service. Instead of going to the shop and buying your drink, you can send out for some fresh pints on delivery. It might allow them to reopen.

Have you been under a rock for the past three months? That's already happening all over the country.

ShatterAlan

Jimmy Garlic wrote: »

Probably in the domestic kitchen as most pubs, especially rural ones have the proprietors living on site. Freezer and a fryer, nothing complicated about it and the chances of poisonings are slim. All pubs have to offer food I believe, it’s a condition of the licence, correct me if I’m wrong.

I'll name a few pubs that I've frequented in Dublin:


McNeils Capel street
Nealons Capel St.
Brogan's Dame street
The Glimmerman Stonybatter
Delaney's Smithfield
Cobblestone Smithfield.


They don't have so much as a pantry cupboard. The closest thing you'll get to a kitchen in these places is a kettle to make hot whiskeys.

Rothko

mikeecho wrote: »

The Irish pub died long ago, with plasma TVs, mobile phones and WiFi.

I rarely go to the pub, but when I do, I go to one without a TV , without WiFi, and where phones are discouraged.

Drinking, and chatting to strangers, a bar man that can hold a conversation and is a bit of craic, . that's what it's all about.

A rarity these days, even before covid

Nonsense

ShatterAlan

Corben Dallas wrote: »

Key to it is that they have to be Mircowave-able... and would need large fridge for all food storage... should be doable. Kitchen gives you much more options of course, some pubs don't have them.

Well if you're allowed charge 9 euros for a 4 euro Spar tv dinner then I suppose it could be possible.


But then that begs the question....if it was allowed before how come no pubs ever did it?


A pub that doesn't have a kitchen could only make toasties. If they were allowed to serve nuked tv dinners how come they never did?

corner of hells

ShatterAlan wrote: »

I'll name a few pubs that I've frequented in Dublin:


McNeils Capel street
Nealons Capel St.
Brogan's Dame street
The Glimmerman Stonybatter
Delaney's Smithfield
Cobblestone Smithfield.


They don't have so much as a pantry cupboard. The closest thing you'll get to a kitchen in these places is a kettle to make hot whiskeys.

Fine pubs , sir.

El_Duderino 09

mikeecho wrote: »

The Irish pub died long ago, with plasma TVs, mobile phones and WiFi.

I rarely go to the pub, but when I do, I go to one without a TV , without WiFi, and where phones are discouraged.

Drinking, and chatting to strangers, a bar man that can hold a conversation and is a bit of craic, . that's what it's all about.

A rarity these days, even before covid

Where and how are phones discouraged?

mikeecho

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Where and how are phones discouraged?

Just a sign up, asking ppl not to use phones.
It's not enforced, but it's a reminder to put the phone down and talk to someone.

corner of hells

begbysback wrote: »

Bit gay, no?

Pint in Nealons in Capel street a bit gay , maybe I'm missing something.
Brogans, gay ?

pgj2015

The pubs havent been finished for 20 years, have a look at the queues outside pubs and nightclubs at christmas or any busy weekend night during the summer. The beer gardens packed on a nice sunny saturday or sunday afternoon.

you would want to be mad to stay in watching netflix, running on a treadmill or internet dating where its like 1 woman to 30 men and unless you are brad pitt you probably wont even get a hi back from someone you wouldnt give the time of day in a pub. The pubs and clubs are 100 times better than sky or netflix.

Edgware

corner of hells wrote: »

Fine pubs , sir.

Exactly. If you want to eat go to a restaurant and if you have to have a TV in the pub strictly sports and the odd news bulletin. If you want to see Neighbours or Eastenders stay at home

buried

If this f**king covid bastard comes back in a second wave around the start of Autumn and then into Winter, then they will be finished.

dominatinMC

buried wrote: »

If this f**king covid bastard comes back in a second wave around the start of Autumn and then into Winter, then they will be finished.

If (when :eek:) it comes back, the pubs will be least of our worries! You'd hope though that the government will be better prepared for this eventuality, and the whole economy will not have to be shut down again (just some sectors..)

dominatinMC

Sunny Disposition wrote: »

Pubs have been dying for probably 20 years, since drink driving got more serious. The Celtic Tiger boom papered over the problem for a while, but it became very apparent during the recession. People have other things to do now, Netflix, Sky Sports TV at home, treadmills, internet freely available, online dating, the pub will never be as central to life again as it once was. Some will survive though, just won't be as many, there won't be small villages with six or seven pubs.

All of the above are fine if you are some kind of introvert. Sitting at home, having a few cans watching Netflix is not my idea of fun. Similar argument applies for Sky Sports (which I might add is prohibitively expensive for a lot), but most of the enjoyment I get from a match is chatting to other people about it, debating tactics, controversies, etc. As for online dating, the majority of people I know end up going...yes, you've guessed it, to a pub for a few drinks to eventually meet up.

So no, I don't agree with your assertion. I do agree that there will be causalities among rural pubs, but they were over-saturated anyway imo. The era of people frequenting a bar all day, every day is well gone (no harm) but there is plenty of evidence to suggest the Thursday-Sunday trade is as busy as ever.

Filmer Paradise

ShatterAlan wrote: »

Without a kitchen it will be difficult.

No problem. Just do a deal with the local chipper/eating house.

No need to go to all the hassle of preparing food on site.

Let the people in for their pints & ring in an order for delivery.

Everyone wins!

Simples.:)

corner of hells

Filmer Paradise wrote: »

No problem. Just do a deal with the local chipper/eating house.

No need to go to all the hassle of preparing food on site.

Let the people in for their pints & ring in an order for delivery.

Everyone wins!

Simples.:)

Could I bring my pint to the chipper ?

Deep Thought

It’s amazing how convenient this virus is for a lot of companies, shops , pubs etc..

Filmer Paradise

corner of hells wrote: »

Could I bring my pint to the chipper ?

Only if you have a plastic 'glass'.

JupiterKid

The Irish pub has been dying off for nearly 20 years now. Anyone who has been looking around cannot but have noticed the trend. The smoking ban was the start, then the drink driving crackdown, etc.

All Covid-19 is doing is quickening the trend of the death spiral of the Irish pub.

It's sort of sad in a way, as the pub was central to Irish social life in the 19th and 20th Centuries, and the job losses and loss of social outlets for people, particularly older people, will be keenly felt.

But as a recovering alcoholic myself, personally I won't be lamenting the loss of pubs which made so much of their money off chronic alcoholics, a whole cohort of Irish men who went to their early graves.

Ireland has undergone fundamental social and cultural change in the past 30 years and the pub, along with the power of the Catholic church, is one of the main casualties. Maybe alcohol and the pub were so popular in past decades because of the repressed nature of Ireland - plus our bad weather, of course.

riclad

Lock down protected 1000s of people from getting the virus. If you want to see how not to handle the crisis look at the USA.
The nó of people getting the virus is still rising
, especially in states that reopened after lockdown
Yes many pubs and cafes will close
I see some cafes are still takeout only
I Don, t see how they can stay in business
with 50 per cent of revenue gone.
We have no tourists now. How many shops pubs depend on tourists to survive.
The government did Ok in general
apart from the nursing home fiasco
We could open everything tommorow,
Some people will be afraid or reluctant to go to a pub especially if there's a 2 metre rule
Easier to just buy drink in the local supermarket
There's no easy solution to this crisis for pubs
or other retail stores
I see no evidence of hysteria at least from
this government in its policy's towards covid19

dominatinMC

JupiterKid wrote: »

The Irish pub has been dying off for nearly 20 years now. Anyone who has been looking around cannot but have noticed the trend. The smoking ban was the start, then the drink driving crackdown, etc.

All Covid-19 is doing is quickening the trend of the death spiral.of the Irish pub.

It's sort of sad in a way, as the pub was central to Irish social life in the 19th and 20th Centuries, and the job losses and loss of social outlets for people, particularly older people, will be keenly felt.

But as a recovering alcoholic myself, personally I won't be lamenting the loss of pubs which made so much of their money off chronic alcoholics, a whole cohort of Irish men who went to their early graves.

Ireland has undergone fundamental social and cultural change in the past 30 years and the pub, along with the power of the Catholic church, is one of the main casualties. Maybe alcohol and the pub were so popular in past decades because of the repressed nature of Ireland - plus our bad weather, of course.

What a load of tripe. Grandiose statements such as "the death spiral of the Irish pub" are almost laughable. I can't even begin to understand your plight as a recovering alcoholic, but you definitely do not understand the current pub scene. Yes, some rural pubs (in oversaturated markets) will suffer. However, take a walk down any main street on Thursday/Friday/Saturday (even Sunday) night and you're guaranteed to see busy pubs. Sure even before the Covid lockdown, we all saw footage of packed pubs in Temple Bar. The Irish Pub is going nowhere.

ShatterAlan

I lived in the US for a few year and played on a pub darts team. We'd play every Tuesday night. You'd have home matches and away matches. It was fun. Nothing to serious. Our team wasn't great but we did ok.


Anyway the owner of the pub usually put on food for the players for free even though they had no kitchen. The food was actually pretty good. They would set out a tressle table and on it put a few what are called chafing dishes. These are rectangular stainless steel dishes on a frame. Water is inside the bottom steel tray and another tray full of food is placed on top and another steel lid covering the whole thing. Little tins of flammable jelly called "Sternos" are place underneath to heat the water and keep everything piping hot.


Back to the food itself. It was actually very good. Meatballs and spaghetti, tacos with mince, and side plates of salsa, lettuce, cheese, etc., baked lasagne, drumsticks and rice.
It was different on every dart night.


A company would deliver this about 8pm, maybe an hour after the darts match started and we'd all take a halftime break and tuck in.



So maybe this could be something that pubs with out a kitchen could do.....but no company is going to invest in setting up such a business just for 3 weeks until they are not needed anymore.

Pauliedragon

3 pubs out of 5 in my area have been open for weeks. I'd guess mine isn't the only town where this is happening.

Rodney Bathgate

Cienciano wrote: »

I've never seen beans on toast as a main meal in a pub. Not that there's anything wrong with it, it's a substantial meal imho. Wouldn't pay €9 for it though.

Some grated cheddar cheese on top and you have a gourmet meal.

JupiterKid

dominatinMC wrote: »

What a load of tripe. Grandiose statements such as "the death spiral of the Irish pub" are almost laughable. I can't even begin to understand your plight as a recovering alcoholic, but you definitely do not understand the current pub scene. Yes, some rural pubs (in oversaturated markets) will suffer. However, take a walk down any main street on Thursday/Friday/Saturday (even Sunday) night and you're guaranteed to see busy pubs. Sure even before the Covid lockdown, we all saw footage of packed pubs in Temple Bar. The Irish Pub is going nowhere.

I didn’t say the Irish pub is going to completely die off, and I actually hope it doesn’t. That’s not going to happen in any case - there will always be a demand for a physical space for people to mix and drink. The pub is an important social outlet for so many and there can be great craic to be had in a pub. Actually when my drinking was at its very worst in 2014/15, I did nearly all my drinking at home, alone. Going to the pub would have been way too expensive for me given the amount I was pouring down my throat at that desperate time.

The pub is changing - more and more “gastropubs” opening, better food offerings, the places that will survive are having to offer the punter a quality experience for the price of the drink they sell - live music at weekends, a smoking beer garden, table quizzes, pool tables etc.

The tiny, filthy old man pubs that used to be so common in any average rural town or parts of Dublin and the regional cities are dying off very fast. Drive through any mid sized town and whereas 20 years ago there might have been 15 or 16 pubs, now there are only about 4 or 5 and many of these aren’t even open daily now. The decline of the Irish pub is an undeniable trend, whether you want to acknowledge that fact or not.

whisky_galore

The stand alone drinking dens with open latrine standard toilets are finished.
So are middle of nowhere rural pubs, pubs that fail to give the public what it wants, whether that's live music or food, pubs with arsehole owners or bar staff.
Customers are more discerning now, they can go elsewhere or indeed drink at home.

Obviously all pubs cannot survive, hundreds of pubs have closed and tbh many were no loss.

The Irish pub itself is not finished. The ones that find their niche, have a loyal customer following have a good chance remaining open.

Edgware

The pubs that were kept going in rural Ireland did so because they were owner ran. The publicans family provided the staff and the publican invariably had other business interests such as farmer, auctioneer, undertaker T.D. etc. Now with smaller families and children not interested in the business the pubs are not economical to run. To get a good manager will be 50000 a year and if you dont pay him he will pay himself

kowloon

frag420 wrote: »

Don’t forget Soros...

Darth Soros, the evil mastermind behind it all.

ShatterAlan

whisky_galore wrote: »

The stand alone drinking dens with open latrine standard toilets are finished.
So are middle of nowhere rural pubs, pubs that fail to give the public what it wants, whether that's live music or food, pubs with arsehole owners or bar staff.
Customers are more discerning now, they can go elsewhere or indeed drink at home.

Obviously all pubs cannot survive, hundreds of pubs have closed and tbh many were no loss.

The Irish pub itself is not finished. The ones that find their niche, have a loyal customer following have a good chance remaining open.

"Discerning"? .... is that the word now for a wanker who has a choice?


I have friends who are millionaires and they would still prefer to suck down a half dozen pints in the kind of kip that you mention as opposed to some soulless glass countered wine bar.

Junkyard Tom

We must be down to only several thousand pubs now then?

whisky_galore

ShatterAlan wrote: »

"Discerning"? .... is that the word now for a wanker who has a choice?


I have friends who are millionaires and they would still prefer to suck down a half dozen pints in the kind of kip that you mention as opposed to some soulless glass countered wine bar.

You have friends? Good on you.

Filmer Paradise

ShatterAlan wrote: »

"Discerning"? .... is that the word now for a wanker who has a choice?


I have friends who are millionaires and they would still prefer to suck down a half dozen pints in the kind of kip that you mention as opposed to some soulless glass countered wine bar.

Y'know for the past 10/15 years I've not been a pub goer. Despite having 7 or 8 pubs within staggering distance of my house.

Raising a family and all that........

Tell you what, when this lockdown is over, I'll be making a beeline to the old haunts that I used to go to............if they're still open.

Old man pubs rock!

touts

Good riddance. We think they are the only way to have fun and that everyone else on the world loves us for them. In reality they are a cancer in Irish society and everyone else is laughing at us because of them.

In 20 years around a quarter will still exist. Another quarter will have evolved into something like wine bars. The rest will be gone. And we will look back at the time of the pub and wonder what the hell we were thinking. We are moving to a more mature relationship with drink.