It’s a tough time for pubs. Their costs are high and their drinkers are skint. January was always a slow month, long before dry January was a thing. But if necessity is the mother of invention you’d think they would be busting their guts to entice in all the non-drinkers. Where are the pavement advertising boards chalked up with alcohol-free come-on-in offerings? Something like: “Draught alcohol-free beer in here” or: “We have enough zero gins to knock you clean out if they were the real thing.” Or, more radically: “Not drinking? Come on in and we’ll show you it’s possible to have a good time anyway.” OK, I’ll never earn a living as a copywriter, but you get my drift.
I say this out of love for pubs. Across the UK there are communities where, of an evening, the pub is the only place where people can commune. Yes, pubs aren’t for everyone, but to flourish they need to be. And a bit of come hither to non-drinkers, especially at this time of year, seems an obvious move.
