Comment by georgebcrawford

I agree until your last sentence. Pubs closing can be devastating.

Pubs are often the centre of a community, especially small ones. Not even small towns. Traditionally they have been centered around drinking, but this is changing. Much like libraries had to adapt to falling reading rates, pubs have had to adapt to falling alcohol consumption.

The hard part of this is that food and wage costs are often covered by alcohol costs, though where I'm from the government has exercised vice taxes to make this less tenable. More customers doesn't necessarily mean that much more profit, for a host of reasons.

I hope pubs find a way forward.

Source for my rambling: worked in and managed pubs for a decade. They're not just for heavy drinkers.