After the hectic Christmas season, during which pubs managed Christmas parties and dealt with the Guinness shortage, they now face the most dreaded period for the hospitality industry: Dry January.
To combat the significant drop in footfall, a community of independent pubs in London has taken action, inviting Londoners to set a goal of visiting an independent pub at least once a week. To support this initiative, the community is offering free food and drink through the London Pub Collection voucher scheme.
There is no need to remind anyone of the ongoing turmoil the hospitality industry has been facing for years. This has been brought sharply into focus by the latest government figures, which show that more than one pub per day in England and Wales closed permanently in 2024, with a total of 412 establishments shutting down. The total number of pubs fell from 39,401 in December 2023 to 38,949 in December 2024, continuing an alarming trend that has been happening for decades. In London alone, nearly a thousand pubs have disappeared over the last twenty years, representing a staggering decrease of over 20%.
This is the result of a culmination of significant challenges that continue to weigh heavily on pubs.
CityStack has compiled a list of the top concerns facing independent pub owners in our scheme (members are available for interviews upon request).
The top concerns are:
● Soaring beer prices
● Rising property rents
● Business rates increase
● Pay television sports channels subscription fee hikes
● Mortgage interest rate rises
● Soaring energy bills
● Guinness shortage
● Council regulations
As every year, publicans nervously enter the first quarter, as it is often the most challenging time for many independent pubs.
During this period, these establishments contend with a sharp drop in footfall due to Dry January, poor weather, and customers reassessing their leisure budgets - all while managing the same overheads. Sadly, many struggle to stay afloat amidst these numerous obstacles.
This is why a community of over 70 independent pubs has joined the CityStack initiative, offering free food and drink to Londoners who received their London Pub Collection as a Christmas gift. This community aims to make Londoners aware of the challenges these small businesses face during Dry January and urges them to set a goal of visiting at least one independent pub each week during this period.
About CityStack
Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic, French national Alison Boutoille, who fell in love with pub culture after moving to London, decided to bring together a community of independent pubs and create a unique discount scheme to combat inflation, helping Londoners continue to enjoy nights out despite the rising costs in the capital.
The concept of the initiative is simple: Londoners purchase a £25 stack of beer mats (called the ‘London Pub Collection’), which gives them £100 worth of food and drink at fantastic independent pubs across the city. Each pack comes with a special beer mat, which can be shown at any ten of the 60+ pubs participating in the project. Customers have it stamped and receive £10 off a £20+ spend.
CityStack provides a fun experience too, including a map and a stack of collectible informative beer mats to learn more about a curated selection of independent pubs. The goal is to encourage pub lovers to visit independent pubs right after receiving this unique Christmas gift, generating footfall and revenue during this very quiet period.
The objectives are straightforward:
Help people identify independently run pubs
Encourage Londoners to discover independent pubs, and drive footfall to these establishments, which are struggling with inflation and declining visitor numbers
Allow Londoners to socialise within their budget
Raise awareness of the challenges pubs are currently facing
Megha and Gaurav Khanna, landlords of the Gladstone Arms (Borough)
Over 70 independent pubs are already part of the scheme, with more pubs requesting to join each week.
"With all the challenges independent pubs like ours are facing - rising costs and Londoners having less budget for going out - this kind of initiative is incredibly helpful in bringing people to discover places like ours, which they might not have otherwise!" – Siblings Megha and Gaurav Khanna, landlords of the Gladstone Arms
"This scheme is a fantastic system to be identified by pub-goers as ‘independent’. Thanks to CityStack, we've welcomed pub lovers who wouldn't have been to our place otherwise." – Egil Johansen, landlord of the Kenton
"As soon as we heard about this initiative, we decided to join because it's a fantastic way to let people know that we are independent and to attract pub-goers from all over London to discover us." – Eli Tancheva, landlady of the Dog and Bell
"We joined the initiative in 2021 because we love that CityStack is leading the way in supporting independent businesses like ours. The scheme is an excellent system that helps people discover our place. I've been recommending it to other landlords, as I believe all independent pubs could benefit from increased footfall." - Bryan Fitzsimmons, landlord of Skehan's
Alison Boutoille, founder of CityStack commented: "Observing the daily disappearance of these de-facto community centres, which are so core to British culture, is heartbreaking. The challenges pubs have faced for many years have worsened significantly since the pandemic. Changes in drinking habits, staff shortages due to Brexit, massive increases in operating costs, and upward-only AGA leases form endless, belligerent obstacles that increase the daily struggle, making the situation untenable for independent businesses.
We had to do something to help these small businesses thrive and allow publicans to keep fighting to preserve these places that allow everyone to connect in an increasingly lonely world.
"While big chains may be better equipped to weather the current economic situation, it’s much harder for independent businesses to stay afloat, which is why we created this initiative. We encourage people to return to independent pubs before it's too late, and a Christmas gift is a great way to do so."
As part of the initiative, Alison has started an “Indie Pub Tour” as well as the successful “Support an Independent Pub Day” alongside Alistair Von Lion, pub champion the London Pub Explorer. She passionately continues to champion independent pubs, which she believes are essential to the core of British culture, and has been featured on Daily Mail Online, Los Angeles Times, France24, The Metro, iNews, The Morning Advertiser, MyLondon, This is Loca London, Southwark News, and Beer Today.