First pub, two drinks, £10.70. Ouch, we thought. But that must just be what it costs round there nowadays.
Second pub, literally round the corner. Same two drinks came to £6 something.
I’m trying to be normal today and do my actual job instead of falling into a hyperfixated rabbithole of how pubs work and how they can possibly be so different despite being in essentially the same location and about the same size. But I can’t get it out of my mind!
Both of them had dogs in, so it can’t be that. The more expensive one was much more brightly lit, so maybe pub-grade lightbulbs are very expensive? 🤔
Any subject-matter experts hanging about who can put me out of my misery?
Well this is what I thought, but then I looked on Google for reviews and everyone was just saying “go here for cheap drinks” so it seems like a long term thing.
Afaik they’re both independent rather than chain pubs. Both had pool and darts. Although I did just find out (yeah the getting on with work thing isn’t going so well) that the more expensive one doubles as a b&b with a couple of bedrooms upstairs so I wonder if it’s a bit of a “captive audience” type situation.
I agree with LameSauce that it may just be down to having a smaller crowd that will “pay a premium” to have a quieter/less crowded place to hang out and drink.
As well as the premium for a quieter place to drink, the captive audience thing also makes sense. When I initially read your account it made me think of hotel bars, which can exploit the fact that many punters will be expensing their drinks…
Good point! It’s a pretty rural town that people tend to stop off in on multi-day hikes and stuff so I reckon if you’ve just rolled into a “b&b” after walking all day you’ll probably pay anything for a cold drink.
£10.70 for two drinks is cheap by London standards so definitely that b&b trap must be working.