Last week it was announced by Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) that an average of 12 public house commercial properties close their doors for good every week. But it seems that JD Wetherspoon is far from that trend.
The chain opened two new pubs in April and another one just last week. However, the new commercial property opportunities don’t stop there, as JD Wetherspoon have a further ten pubs scheduled to open in the space of three months. Four public houses will be opened in May, two in June and a further four in July. The locations of the new commercial properties range from Wiltshire to Lancashire, and Avon to Fife – which pretty much covers the whole of the country. So no matter where you are, there will more than likely be a JD Wetherspoon’s pub within easy reach.
A statement by the Chief Executive of CAMRA, Mike Benner, expressed that the ever growing price of a pint was crippling most pubs: “Going to the pub is increasingly becoming an unaffordable activity. A third of the price of every pint you buy is now taxation.”
But JD Wetherspoon has some of the cheapest beer, wine and food prices around today. So how do they do it?
The pub chain uses local British sourced food wherever possible, mainly in their chips and beef burgers. They also only use free-range eggs and have a range of real ales from local brewers all over the country. This gives the pub a local feel, even though it is a large chain with over 800 commercial properties under its umbrella.
Do you regularly visit a JD Wetherspoon pub near where you live? Or has one just opened up near you?
