The wet revival
Nothing makes my heart sink faster than entering a pub and finding all the tables have been laid for lunch or dinner. It’s criminal to have nowhere to go for those customers who simply want a pint of beer and do not want to partake in a plate of sea bass with a beurre Blanc sauce on a bed of garlic potatoes and samphire.
I’ve always had a slightly uneasy relationship with gastropubs because far too many have placed food above drinks, and for me, that makes them restaurants. My modus operandi for a family evening out is a pre-dinner drink in a pub and then off to a restaurant. Maybe this demarcation is a bit old school, but it’s enabled me to enjoy my two favourite things on the same evening.
When my children were much younger, they asked my wife why we always had to go to a pub before dinner, with the hope that she might be sympathetic to their cause. She simply replied: “Because daddy likes to go to the pub before dinner.” Their response to that was silence, but I think they now understand. At least, I hope they do.
Interestingly, in some JD Wetherspoon pubs, the food accounts for more than 50% of sales, but most people – including myself – very much regard them as wet-led venues where food plays second fiddle. This is partly because it’s hardly noticeable in its outlets (apart from breakfast). Admittedly, they do have the space to include dedicated areas for dedicated drinkers to congregate and not be surrounded by diners, but it was instructive what founder Tim Martin revealed at the recent Propel Excellence in Pub & Bar Retailing Conference.
He highlighted that there is an imperative on the pub teams to clear tables quickly. What he clearly does not want is to have food impacting on the wet-led aspects of his venues. Certainly, on my dining out ventures at my local Wetherspoon pub, I’ve always been impressed by the incredible speed with which the detritus of a consumed meal is removed from the table and the setting seamlessly returned to being a pub and not a dining room.
As a gambling man, I’m betting Sir Tim is a wet-led man at heart, so just like him, it makes my heart soar to hear that wet-led pubs are enjoying something of a renaissance. They recorded 3.6% like-for-like growth versus 2.4% for pub restaurants, according to CGA by NIQ, for the most recently recorded period. It shows that the first months of 2026 have shown a divergence between food-led pubs, where negative growth has just been seen for the first time in the past year, compared with wet-led pubs, which have continued to record positive numbers.
This is the experience of Chickpea Group, which operates five wet-led pubs (tenanted with Stonegate), which are producing the cash-generation at the moment that is being used to fund growth across the group’s nine core food-led pubs (with accommodation).
This scenario represents something of a much-needed respite for a category that has had a particularly tough time over recent years. Its current upwards trajectory is down to the situation whereby a cost-of-living crisis is driving people to seek out two elements – value and community. It’s often the case that “wet-led” and “community” go hand-in-hand, so this group of pubs is currently sitting in a very welcome sweet spot.
The often under-pressure leaders of pub companies, including Stonegate (with Craft Union), Amber Taverns and Admiral (with Proper Pubs), have welcomed this landscape. Chris Jowsey, chief executive of Admiral, stated: “A lot of people decided they were not going to go out for food, or do less of that, and were more likely to go out for a beer with friends and family. Our demographic [at Proper Pubs] tends to be financially stretched, and therefore, having an affordable pint is really important.”
In reality, being financially stretched is not the only driver of people into wet-led community pubs, because in London, Remarkable Pubs continues to draw affluent hipsters (and other types) into its 17 lovely Victorian pubs. Owner Robert Thomas is a long-standing operator of quality wet-led community pubs that have over-ridden multiple economic ups and downs as he provides an impressive array of drinks and vibes at all his units.
I’m hoping all the other drink-focused pubs across the country can, like Remarkable, move beyond only being an attractive option when consumers are cash-strapped during difficult economic times.
Glynn Davis, editor, Beer Insider
This piece was originally published on Propel Info where Glynn Davis writes a regular Friday opinion piece. Beer Insider would like to thank Propel for allowing the reproduction of this column.