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Why aren't there more alcohol free pubs/bars? I googled and could only find about 6 in the country.
They'd be a great place for kids to go and hang with their mates without the worry of them getting trollied, probably good for recovering alcoholics to be able to go and have a meal with family etc. without the fear of being around drinkers.
You'd obviously have to try and make sure no one smuggled booze in though.
So good idea?
You could be on to something.... I would call it "cafe" or.. ?
youth club?
Not just aimed at kids though, and more than a cafe - a family environment.
Like a proper pub but without the drunks lol.
Like a proper pub but without the drunks lol.
you mean like a pub that is run well?
Shit idea. Go to a pub and buy non-alcoholic drink. Sorted. Go to a no alcohol pub and order an alcoholic drink... and everyone would be too sober to spunk ££££££ on scampi fries and crisps.
Well apparently kids are being turned off alcohol with less young people/adults drinking than ever, so I can't really see its an issue. And kids younger than drinking age would much rather communicate from the comfort of their bedrooms via a WhatsApp group chat than actually sit around face to face and talk to each other. Times are changing!
I love my local...really nice and friendly atmosphere, a mix of all ages and backgrounds, and a bit of alcohol does loosen people up and make people a bit more friendly and things only get a bit more 'rowdy' (well not rowdy at all but just a little more slurred, but in a friendly way) very late on a Friday or Saturday night during the lock-in....so long after the non-drinkers have got bored and tired and trotted off to bed.
A restaurant?
So good idea?
Have a guess 🙂
Like a proper pub but without the drunks lol.
A proper pub.
As per the others I cant really see it working. We have cafes etc which dont serve alcohol. Likewise some restaurants dont allow it at all (even corkage).
For kids I think you would need one environment and for recovering alcoholics a different one.
Would it really impact the latter to go to a restaurant with byo only?
Hookah places seem to meet part of the need although I would avoid them like the plague.
A no alcohol pub seems the worse of all worlds. I would happily go to a no alcohol food place or a coffee shop but one advertised as no alcohol would put me off especially if part of the reason was to attract kids.
So no alcohol but with kids?
Two very good reasons for me not to go then.
shit idea.
kids dont drink because skunk is cheaper.
A pub without alcohol? As Deborah Meaden would say 'I'm out'.
more than a cafe – a family environment.
John Lewis cafe?
Great idea, I’ll call mine the Korova Milk Bar.
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Ah but as I recall that Moloko Plus was a bit "special".
shit idea.
kids dont drink because skunk is cheaper.
Bloody hell skunk must be cheap in Leeds.
I get what you mean. A late night Cafe for adults, this has been a thing in kiwiland forever. Good food good coffee, pinball machines etc and open until 0400.
Cafes here are more daytime places for kids and old people and close at 1600, so if you want to hang out but not in a pub you don't have much choice.
My daughter and her mates have been goung to the pub since they were 15, it's a local green king brand, they go and have breakfast sometimes and lunch. Getting a real drink at that age is virtually impossible but they are happy to serve them food and soft drinks.
There used to be one in Walsall, back when I was a teenager. Had loads of board games and the like. Was ok, but we preferred to attempt to get served in ‘proper’ pubs.
A cafe that doesn’t close at 4pm, just as you are getting off the hill and desperately in need of food? That sounds great
There is one in my high street, it's next door to the vegan butchers.
Its a great idea in theory, but only as long as theres also a move to make ordering a latte and and Earl Grey in a pub a criminal offence, possibly punishable by death
I can never work out why so many Cafes etc are closed at 6pm.... Plenty of times i'd love to sit down for a coffee/cake/chat but where do you go.... Answer is, i don't really know.
Plenty of times i’d love to sit down for a coffee/cake/chat but where do you go…. Answer is, i don’t really know.
One of these modern pubs/bars that serves cake and coffee?
Just to blow people's minds there are cafe's that serve beer too 😉
I think it's a great idea. There was a corner site in Peebles that would have been perfect for a cafe bar type place but sadly Costa got in there, and close at 1900 and it's full of school kids. The oldies go to the cafe in the kitchen shop.
One of these modern pubs/bars that serves cake and coffee?
https://giphy.com/gifs/what-the-****-wtf-ukGm72ZLZvYfS
I'm surprised that cafes don't stay open later.
When I was working in Dubai Caribou Coffee was open until about 01:00.
So general consensus is that a pub-type-place is a crap idea but a longer opening coffee house would be a winner.
Traditionally cafes in Blighty are for shoppers (women) to go and take the load off their feet. Pubs are for the old man to escape the wife in the evening. Pubs rely on people going in and having a few, but nobody "has a few" soft drinks. Which is why pubs charge ridiculous mark-ups on soft drinks. Back in the '90s there were moves afoot to change our drinking culture to a continental cafe culture but it was just a pipe dream. We are northern people, used to drinking to get out of it. Having said all that, back in the 60s there was a coffee bar culture for youth. Drinking then was for old-timers, as it is in parts of Europe today.
When I was working in Dubai Caribou Coffee was open until about 01:00.
Errr.... There are no pubs in Dubai as alcohol (and being drunk) is illegal (apart from the tolerance of hotel bars obvs.)
Nico:
Back in the ’90s there were moves afoot to change our drinking culture to a continental cafe culture but it was just a pipe dream.
You should live around here, every high street seems to sprout cafes or bars which are packed. And the pubs are closing nationwide as a result. Eating out and cafes are the new pub.
We have a couple of ice cream bars locally that serve a sort of similar purpose. Booth seating, soft drinks etc, They're still open after a few years which in this economic climate suggests they're doing ok.
"And the pubs are closing nationwide as a result. "
..or maybe the cafes are opening BECAUSE the pubs are closing?
You should live around here, every high street seems to sprout cafes or bars which are packed. And the pubs are closing nationwide as a result. Eating out and cafes are the new pub.
My home town is also awash with bars, but bars are not cafes, and they're certainly not "Continental". They're just modern pubs, mainly for drinking more than one or two drinks, and like old-style pubs they are mainly about alcohol with soft drinks as an aside to keep the good lady wife or nominated driver quiet. The one significant change is that bars now sell decent food, as do pubs.
Cafes haven't really changed other than in superficial style, in that they are open shop hours for shoppers with a predominantly female clientele. The coffee may now be "barista-inspired", the tea include "chai" and the cheese rolls replaced by paninis but they are still fulfilling the same social function, which is where the OP came in - closed by early evening!
There were actually MORE cafes open after 6 p.m. when I were a youth, thanks to the smattering of Italian "espresso bars" back then, but I don't think they existed in most towns, and they weren't exactly humming in the evening, though some of the clientele were.
I do some work with kids ranging from 7 upwards to about 25. The reason why they are drinking a lot less than their parents is because they can’t see the point of it. They still meet up at each other’s house or coffee shops and don’t feel the need to have alcohol to have fun.
As far as I’m concerned pubs are a dying industry and that’s no bad thing. Overpriced, dirty, full of crap music and shouty drunk blokes. No thanks.
this has been a thing in kiwiland forever. Good food good coffee, pinball machines etc and open until 0400.
I used to go to a bar in Hull that stopped serving booze at last orders but then just stayed open til breakfast time serving coffee / food instead.
I think genreallu the idea of non-alcohol venue is less of a challenge than the one of having good non-alcoholic drinks to serve. There are plenty of drinks that are nice in their own right but not many that are good for an extended socialise and for evenings. Whether hot or cold most drinks are quite 'uppy' either caffeine-y or sugary or fizzy. Some people are lucky to find a lo/no alcohol version of beer or wine that suits them but for most its an it'll-do solution for not wanting/ being able to drink alcohol in a pub situations
It seems like devising a 'nice drink' - something to drink for an extended evening shouldn't be a difficult nut to crack. But I can't think of anyone who's done it yet.
As far as I’m concerned pubs are a dying industry and that’s no bad thing. Overpriced, dirty, full of crap music and shouty drunk blokes. No thanks.
That might say more about the pubs you go to than pubs in general.
I do some work with kids ranging from 7 upwards to about 25. The reason why they are drinking a lot less than their parents is because they can’t see the point of it.
I thought it was because modern drugs are better, cheaper and easier to obtain?
I thought it was because modern drugs are better, cheaper and easier to obtain?
It's said a lot, there must be some surveys to back that up.
It’s said a lot, there must be some surveys to back that up.
2014 to 2016 in England (11 to 15 year olds) - Numbers that drink are down (but those that do drink, drink more amounts than ever), numbers that do drugs up (but need to wait till 2018 data available to check trend)
Would be interesting to see if that has more to do with availability as licensing keeps getting tougher, 18+ stats would be useful
That might say more about the pubs you go to than pubs in general.
x2
Glasgow had a couple of 24h cafes over the years but are now long gone. It's a shame as they were a good place to get a quiet bite after a club or kill time till an early morning bus or train.
Why young kids aren't drinking is a bit of a mystery, I think a lot of it has to do with technology/gaming culture. If you pick up the habit of drinking with your mates as a teenager, it is hard to shift.
So maybe a temperance bar with a playstation would work.
prohibition or freedom of choice.
somewhere with music, louder in the evening crowd dependant
serves coffee, pastries, cakes, tea, beer, wine, spirits, soft drinks, pizzas, chips
somewhere to sit, stand, socialise or have time out
wifi for instagrammin, gaming, working or just reading STW
outside sheltered smoking
add in a variety of quality controlled drugs as and when they become legal.
i dont care if you call it a bar, pub, cafe
please.