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The literature on the history of the pub presents an invaluable background to any study of the industry, the very special place it fills in our society, and the wider context of its role in British tourism heritage. Most authors acknowledge that the pub is changing with the times, although a mere glance through such comment bears testatment to the way in which the pub's enduring qualities have survived by gradual evolution and adaptation. Of more topical interest, newspaper articles draw the public's attention to the latest developments and trends in the entertainment and leisure spectrum, and comment on their implications for the community and specifically the public house. For the most part, these are of a nationally introspective nature and the pub is not portrayed as a tourist attraction in its own right This article contrasts the views of three stakeholders within the retail pub industry, namely, the tourist, the landlord and the brewer. It charts their views on the evolution of the public house.

The decline of the British public house (pub), well documented over the past three decades, is often linked to detrimental social and economic conditions in communities. The purpose of this study was to explore brewery responses to turbulent market conditions for the pub trade, with a focus on innovation through design.

A longitudinal, qualitative study was conducted over 12 months, with 4 months of close participant observation within the company, to explore the experiences of a design team located within a medium-sized UK brewery.

The “pubscape” emerged, extending and augmenting earlier models of the “servicescape”, driven by an entrepreneurial shared vision recognising the importance of design and innovation in delivering the modern pub.

A single case – one brewery – formed the basis for a longitudinal qualitative study, with the associated benefits and disadvantages typical of single case research in providing insights rather than measurable outcomes. Other cases and other research methods would allow testing of ideas, rather than exploration, and generate different perspectives.

The research indicates the value of adopting an entrepreneurial approach to address challenging trading conditions and shows the practical role that design can play in rethinking service offerings to fit consumer needs and aspirations.

New insights into modern pub management have emerged from this study, positioning design innovation as a route to delivering successful British destination pubs by innovating while retaining traditional brand values and local identity markers, using the “pubscape” as a specific way to envisage innovative servicescape environments.

The purpose of this article is to summarise the evolution of pub food in the UK.

This research uses secondary data.

The provision of food has increased enormously in recent years and has become a vital element to the economics of many outlets.

The article does not have the data to consider how many pubs really benefit from their food provision.

The article provides general information about the nature of the food provision and a generalization about the economic benefits.

This article offers some knowledge and understanding in relation to the provision of pub food.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the changes in wine consumption in UK public houses, and to consider if the sector is maximising its sales opportunities.

This study has used both secondary and primary sources. Existing surveys have been used to gain details of the growth in wine sales and possible explanations for this. The trade press has suggested how licensees could improve their wine sales. Suppliers have been approached to discover to the level of assistance they offer individual outlets. Finally, surveys of the public houses and their customers were undertaken to discover the proficiency of their wine service.

The level of wine sales in the UK is growing rapidly. Much of this is consumed at home, but public houses could benefit from the trend. Some have done so, but the surveys suggest that many do not market the product effectively.

The study is a very limited one, and only considers one town, one area of another town and their customers.

The results of the survey suggest that all licensees could consider the possibility of improving sales by offering a higher quality service to their customers.

Any research which may assist the quality of service offered in the licensed trade should be of interest to all stakeholders.

Purpose – This article aims to outline the main physical characteristics of the British pub, its products and facilities, clientele and licensee at around the end of the Second World War. Design/methodology/approach – There has been a heavy use of secondary sources drawn from the whole of the period studied. This has been augmented by discussions with licensees, retired licensees and older pub customers, to collect their reflections on the industry. Findings – The public house of 60 years ago had a largely male, working class beer‐drinking clientele. Women were becoming more frequent visitors, but their custom was restricted by traditional attitudes and poor facilities. Research limitations/implications – The paper examines the state of the industry. Further work could examine this more carefully, and could include regional studies for comparison purposes. Practical implications – The paper sets the scene for an illustration of the extent of change that has taken place since then. Originality/value – There have been other attempts to examine the history of the public house. This is the most detailed, and as such could be of interest to the general reader as well as practitioners and students of the hospitality industry.

This paper aims to examine the relationship between community-owned enterprises and social capital in urban neighbourhoods. Focussing on community-owned pubs (COPs), the paper investigates how social capital elements have a role in generating these innovative organizations, which foster benefits for community members.

This qualitative research based on data gathered through 23 semi-structured interviews, in an in-depth case study analysis of three COPs located in Carshalton, Nunhead and Tottenham (all suburbs of London).

The paper shows how COPs foster the creation and accumulation of social capital both among their members (bonding capital) and the people living in the neighbourhood (bridging capital). Because of their missions and governance models, COPs create linkages among different people and enable citizens to act together for the common good, thus strengthening the development of a local community and contributing to enhancing the urban regeneration process.

COPs are a recent trend, and there is a lack of scientific literature on this topic. The paper can help social scientists to understand new features of community development processes and the effects of the Localism Act (2011). Furthermore, the research can support organizations involved in assisting local communities, which aim to start up collective-owned pubs. It provides valuable scientific results, in relation to social aggregation and a positive impact on local contexts.

The aim of this study is to present an overview of the factors contributing to the difficulties faced by the public house (pub) sector when analysing the general decline in the number of pubs in the UK seen over recent years.

Due to the nature of the study secondary rather than primary research methods were adopted, although further opportunities to undertake primary research are identified towards the end of the article.

A review of contemporary literature and key industry data has been used to present findings that evaluate the role traditionally played by public houses within society; to examine the changing structure of the pub retailing sector; and to analyse a range of key internal and external factors that have and are contributing to the decline seen in certain elements of the sector, as evidenced in the number of business closures.

Use of both academic and industry‐focussed research articles present a timely and accurate picture of the true situation and general feeling within the sector while suggesting where future research may be undertaken.

The paper offers a number of practical business improvement recommendations that could be taken forward by the sector.

In acknowledging that each pub business is unique due to its form of ownership and the people employed within it, a strategy for survival is outlined for struggling businesses to adopt in order to not only survive in a very difficult trading environment, but also to re‐establish themselves as a central feature of the communities in which they are located.

This paper aims to explore and examine how public houses or pubs function as facilitators and developers of community cohesion and social interactions in rural areas of England.

The authors use data and information about facilities and services available for 284 rural parishes in two different points in time (2000 and 2010) to elaborate an index measurement of community cohesion. The index, created upon a range of discrete variables capturing multiple aspects of community living, is then investigated by using structural equation models to assess the impact of pubs in shaping the levels of community cohesion in the English countryside.

Findings gathered from the analysis identify a strong positive relationship between the presence of pubs and higher levels of community cohesion index occurring within the examined parishes, indicating that this relationship is maintained in time regardless of size of the parish, although different impacts are found in the two time points considered.

As the study is based on a longitudinal examination, it can stimulate research on themes and issues regarding the impact of third places on community cohesion and social capital in rural and remote communities, increasing the amount of information and data available. For instance, due to the nature of information considered, the study could not explore the effects on rural communities’ wellbeing associated with different types of pubs’ ownership and management.

These results provide a valuable and original contribution to the literature related to the measurement of community cohesion and wellbeing with regard to third places such as small businesses and local retailers, whose significant functions of fostering social aggregation and communal initiatives at a local level are frequently neglected.

Findings from this study provide a valuable opportunity for policymakers and local administrators to evaluate policies and actions in support of their communities. In particular, findings provide an original piece of information about the social value of community pubs particularly in small and peripheral areas of England.

The paper provides new and original information about the importance of pubs and third places in general in fostering and developing community cohesion and wellbeing at a local level. Given the significant paucity of empirical studies in the field, the paper represents a valuable contribution to knowledge with particular regard to the methodology applied as well as the potential implications of its findings.

The purpose of this paper is to outline the main changes that took place in the British pub from 1959 to 1989. The introduction of new products, more modern facilities and a more varied clientele are mentioned, together with the key factors driving these changes.

There has been a heavy use of secondary sources drawn from the whole of the period studied. This has been augmented by discussions with licensees, retired licensees and older pub customers, to collect their reflections on the industry.

The brewers introduced new products to increase profits, and they invested in the refurbishment of their estates to attract and retain customers, but government legislation was also vital for encouraging the off‐trade. The period saw a large rise in female customers and the weakening of the traditional male working class use of the pub. The emergence of a few brewers is also recoded.

The work report the changes in the industry, and examines some of the causes. Further work could examine the causes more carefully, and could include regional studies for comparison purposes.

There have been other attempts to examine changes in the public house. This is the most detailed, and as such could be of interest to the general reader as well as practitioners and students of the hospitality industry.

The purpose of this paper is to ask if customer experiences in public houses (pubs) go wrong because of poor initial and subsequent training for front-line staff, while questioning if enough is being made of employee engagement and socialization as a means to improve consistency within the pub service encounter.

The study applies a critical review of the literature with a focus on the initial and subsequent training of front-line employees in the context of managed and entrepreneur-led pub-retailing operations.

The delivery and impact of a well-designed initial training programme may not only enhance long-term employee engagement and loyalty, but also provide competitive advantage for pub-retail operations through a more consistent service delivery. The paper questions the suitability of the approach currently being adopted within the sector and suggests that change is needed in order to ensure the longer-term survival of pub-retail businesses.

Can reliable and consistent customer experiences be delivered without a more progressive approach to the initial training and engagement of front-line employees?

While the importance of initial and subsequent training is widely accepted, the potential for its poor delivery has an almost predictable impact on many customer experiences. The paper recommends a review of the methods used by managed house and entrepreneurial (tenanted and leasehold) pub-retailing businesses to enhance employee socialization, engagement and loyalty to fuel the sector’s drive to generate greater competitive advantage.