The traditional pub lunch is suffering because lunch hours are becoming shorter, with the average break now lasting just 27 minutes.
Many licensees who rely on the lunchtime trade from nearby offices are feeling the pinch as the pressure of modern day society forces workers to take a shorter lunch or even eat their meal at their desk.
And if current trends continue, the latest research by data analyst Eurest predicts that in five years' time the average lunch hour could last a mere five minutes.
Stuart Jordan, who runs the Kudos Group of bars in London, said he had noticed that the trend for people to take shorter breaks had become more evident over the last few years.
"Sales of food at lunchtime have plummeted," he said. "People barely spend an hour for lunch and this means they want their food served as quickly as possible which puts a lot of pressure on us.
"We've started to shut the kitchen at 3pm now, because less people are eating out during the day.
"I wouldn't be surprised if, in the future, people just work through their lunch break full stop."
The problems have been exacerbated by the trend towards high street coffee bars and sandwich shops which sell take-away food or people on the move.
And licensees should bear in mind that while 63 per cent of men still make sure they get away from the office for lunch, fewer than half of women do the same.
On top of this, people are less likely to drink alcohol at lunch, with just one in 100 employees choosing to drink beer or wine during their break compared to a third (one in three) two years ago.
Four in 10 workers also chose their lunch on the basis of how fast they could eat it compared with just two in 10 in 2002, according to the Eurest Lunchtime report.
Licensees are being encouraged to compete by offering quality coffee and soft drinks, starting up a take-away service themselves or introducing a "time promise" assuring business customers that their food will be with them in a certain time.
Tony Leonard, who owns the Hop Poles and the Coopers Cask pubs in Brighton, East Sussex, said that although he was aware of the problem, and agreed with the findings, pubs could still fight back by offering something different.
He added: "Pubs have to offer something different if they want to make sure that workers still want to come in at lunchtime.
"Rather than offer sandwiches or jacket potatoes, you need to offer something that workers can't get from a take-away and eat at their desk. Quality and value and home-cooked food will attract the lunchtime trade."