Smoking policy's a disaster for pubs
What a howling shame that pub food is set to become the main victim of the Government's smoking-ban policy.
In the past decade, food has become an increasingly vital source of revenue to pubs, and has helped make them more inviting to a wider audience.
Many food-led pubs will not object to the ban as their diners will undoubtedly prefer dining in a smoke-free
atmosphere. But this decision is a tragedy for pubs where food may not be the biggest driver of turnover but where
it's still an important source of income.
This halfway house is a disaster of Titanic proportions that will see many pubs become the smoke-filled drinking dens of old or full-on food pubs, with no middle ground.
Pubs have been a significant player in driving quality and innovation in the eating-out market and the informal dining style they offer has made eating-out a more accessible experience for many consumers.
For pubs to be forced to make an unenviable choice between food and alcohol is a terrible injustice. It turns the tide on the terrific work licensees have done to turn pub food from an object of ridicule in some quarters to a subject worthy of stand-alone guides to top-noshing opportunities.
Customers are now set to lose the current breadth of pub-dining options.
It is a scandal directly produced by ill informed policy-making.
A ban must be total. This ridiculous half-way house is the sort of muddleheaded cock-up that only a politician can dream up.
Jo Bruce
Editor, PubChef