UK Pubs Serve 42 Million Pints Over Holiday Weekend

But unfortunately that’s not enough to keep many pubs, still reeling from the economic impact of COVID-19, alive…

Here’s the deal…

Pubs are reopening in the UK, but there are still limiting restrictions which is why 21 million fewer pints of beer were sold over the long holiday weekend.

In April the UK Government allowed pubs to reopen, but just as in the US, they are doing it in stages…And even though patrons are now flocking to their favorite “local” the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) says that removing all restrictions in pubs is essential to the survival of the sector.

As things stand now pubs are only allowed to provide table service, and parties are capped at six people significantly reducing the number of customers they can host.

With millions of UK beer lovers returning to pubs that, thanks to COVID-19, have been locked down for more than a year, the BBPA is estimating that 21 million fewer pints of beer were sold over the long “Bank Holiday” weekend which coincides with Memorial Day here in the states.

And 21 million fewer pints represents an almost 34% drop in the revenue that is so critical to the pub sector’s survival.

“Despite 95% of pubs having reopened, they cannot stay open and survive under the current restrictions they face. Upwards of 2,000 pubs in the UK still aren’t able to reopen at all because they are too small for social distancing or table service only,” said Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the BBPA.

With more and more individuals across the UK receiving COVID-19 vaccinations, the BBPA says all restrictions must be removed in pubs on June 21, which the government has indicated could happen as coronavirus cases continue to drop, “if pubs are to have a fighting chance of survival and recovering their trade to viable levels.”

“Pubs only have a chance of recovering from more than a year of lockdowns and restrictions if they can fully reopen as normal,” stressed McClarkin