Pubs, could they die

[Redback]

With the government introducing new liquor laws, is the pub going to die a slow death.

According to the government they want to have more smaller boutique bars, rather than the larger hotel style pubs:mad:

So is this the end of something very unique to Australia or will the smaller American style bar take over:confused:

Baz.

[Ralph1Malph]

Sadly,
You are probably correct.
However, remember it is the wish of the good folk of NSW through their efforts at the ballot box!
I often wonder why we choose to mimic the US when it has so many problems.
There are many other nicer countries to mimic.

Ralph

[Pedro_The_Swift]

there are already some really small pubs in QLD,,,

I think its a (sydney) city thing,,

[Redback]

Yes there is, small English/Irish/Scottish style pubs would be better i reckon, there are a few around, more in country outer metro areas though, the American bistro type bars are more in the suburbs where the masses live.

Baz.

[taff]

i'd just be happy with a pub, any pub in my suburb :(

[rick130]

naa, they aren't trying to mimic US style bars in Sydney, just have more equitable licensing laws that mimic what Victoria/Melbourne has and more like Europe, where you can go into a cafe and have a glass of wine without having to order food. IMO the current licensing laws are heavily biased in favour of pubs, and the AHA is hell bent on keeping them that way.
I'm all for it, never really liked pubs (and some of my best customers are clubs and pubs) but I'm probably some sort of arty farty trendy hippy type...... oh wait, I'm a tradesman and drive a Defender... damn. :D

[4bee]

oh wait, I'm a tradesman and drive a Defender... damn.


Possibly with a room full of Pro Harts.:D

[Quiggers]

It's pretty damn sad that pubs are soo full of bloody one armed bandits.

I wonder how they cope now that pubs are 'smoke free'?

Classic Aussie pubs have been disappearing for years, which is sad.

There's hardly a pub from north of the Harbour Bridge to Newcastle, these days.

Nearby to me there is a modern 'tavern', a concrete box, which is characterless.

The old Federal in Alstonville is a true old pub and may well be one of the last standing.

Another big oldie in Ballina met with the bulldozers about a month ago.

GQ

[Bigbjorn]

Qld. made big changes to the licencing laws in 1994. The Hotels Association is a big political lobbier and donor and had a big win. Pubs are no longer obliged to have a public bar or required to use standard glasses with the capacity marked. This has seen a rash of tarted up pubs with dim lights, carpets, oversized prices and undersized pots, and overloud music. We now see pubs with dress restrictions in what used to be their public bar, such as "no work boots at any time, "no industrial clothing after 6.00pm", "minimum dress standard is clean neat casual clothing", "no thongs or bare feet". Now many pubs are owned by Colesworths because of Queenslands restrictions on bottle shops and refusal to allow supermarket liquor sales, and have been turned into huge bottle shops with a modest pub attached because a hotel licence can have three remote bottle shops. Any move to small neighbourhood bars in Queensland would require major legislative changes as the Local Government Act require hotels to have lots of car parking, and such small establishments are not permitted under the Licenced Premises Acts. Poker machines in pubs have been a gold-mine also and the Hotels Association are not likely to quietly forgo this monopoly. It has become hard to find a place where one can just drop in for a drink or three with mates without having to dress up or be ripped off. I personally would love to have a neighbourhood bar as currently any pub is a twenty-five minute walk from my home, but not if it is going to be another overpriced pretentious outlet like our local pubs have become. No wonder the local leagues clubs and RSL's are booming.

[googe]

Theres still lots of good pubs up this way,many quiet country pubs a close distance away.I guess it a sacrafice you have to make living in or near a large city its been happening for many years.

[tombraider]

Classic Aussie pubs have been disappearing for years, which is sad.

There's hardly a pub from north of the Harbour Bridge to Newcastle, these days.
GQ

Snipped your post but the point of the quote....


Modern vehicles and lifestyles killed the Pubs...

We have vehicles which go longer runs, our choice not to stop as often to 'make a mile' etc... killed many of the pubs one would stop at on a trip...

I see it on the run to Adelaide and back...

Many a small 'highway' town is closed down....

These were the true Aussie pubs!

[Bigbjorn]

Classic Aussie pubs have been disappearing for years, which is sad.

There's hardly a pub from north of the Harbour Bridge to Newcastle, these days.



GQ

Don't worry about the North Shore to Newcastle. There is barely a pub left in George St. Sydney now. When I was a young bloke, we had a regular test of capacity which was to start at the Harbour View and have a middy in every pub you came to up George St. or, coming the other way, start at the Great Southern, and see how far you could get. I made it to the Tatler once, and a flat mate claimed to have once made the Town Hall. I must have been in pretty poor shape by the time I got to the Tatler. A forty kilo. female could nowadays make Central Station, there are so few pubs left in George St.

[isuzurover]

naa, they aren't trying to mimic US style bars in Sydney, just have more equitable licensing laws that mimic what Victoria/Melbourne has and more like Europe, where you can go into a cafe and have a glass of wine without having to order food. IMO the current licensing laws are heavily biased in favour of pubs, and the AHA is hell bent on keeping them that way.
I'm all for it, never really liked pubs (and some of my best customers are clubs and pubs) but I'm probably some sort of arty farty trendy hippy type...... oh wait, I'm a tradesman and drive a Defender... damn. :D

In Germany you can buy beer EVERYWHERE - service stations, even at tiny roadside bratwurst / doner kebab stands. Yet the pubs are still popular and doing well.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Don't worry about the North Shore to Newcastle. There is barely a pub left in George St. Sydney now. When I was a young bloke, we had a regular test of capacity which was to start at the Harbour View and have a middy in every pub you came to up George St. or, coming the other way, start at the Great Southern, and see how far you could get. I made it to the Tatler once, and a flat mate claimed to have once made the Town Hall. I must have been in pretty poor shape by the time I got to the Tatler. A forty kilo. female could nowadays make Central Station, there are so few pubs left in George St.


My dad told me about this---

not sure how far he ever got,,
should ask the question!

[gruntfuttock]

I think it is a N.S.W thing. Because the larger hotels do not want small ones such as the coffee shops that sell beer as well. Anyone who has been to Melbourne and then Sydney will know what I mean. As Victoria has these laws. The AHA do not want to change the law. I think it will be a good thing. After all Europe has these laws and it goes along nicely. You can sit at a small pub (Bistro as it is called over there) have a meal, wine, beer OR coffee/tea. I personally do not like these huge big clubs, so impersonal. But there are those who do and these new laws will not sound the death nell of the big clubs, just give them some competition.

Just my opinion

[numpty]

This is just like what's happened to service stations. Used to be there were lots of small servos along the highways and byways, where the cost of fuel was little different to large centres. Now they've all but dissappeared, due to supermarket interference etc.

[Quiggers]

This is just like what's happened to service stations. Used to be there were lots of small servos along the highways and byways, where the cost of fuel was little different to large centres. Now they've all but dissappeared, due to supermarket interference etc.

Yeah numpty,

...there's a new 'superservo' being built south of Coolangatta on the Pac Hwy. It's a huuuuge BP/Maccas etc.
A new sign appeared just prior to this edifice... it says (words to the effect of) 'last fuel on highway for 105ks'

(which is wrong)

...wonder how much BP paid the RTA to have this misleading sign erected?

GQ

[numpty]

Yeah numpty,

...there's a new 'superservo' being built south of Coolangatta on the Pac Hwy. It's a huuuuge BP/Maccas etc.
A new sign appeared just prior to this edifice... it says (words to the effect of) 'last fuel on highway for 105ks'

(which is wrong)

...wonder how much BP paid the RTA to have this misleading sign erected?

GQ

And don't get me started on the lack of "real" food outlets.:mad: They have also gone because of bloody clown food etc. Golden Arches indeed.

[Quiggers]

Yup, the bl00dy golden arches have go the market shot to bits, for one curious reason...

...easily available, generally clean, safe, toilets...

...the business is built around a dunny...


GQ

[CraigE]

Pubs have been dying for years. With the increase of RBT (something I agree with, as drink driving is stupid) keeping people out of the pubs and the expense of drinking in a pub now, is only an occasional visit for me.
At between $7-50 and $10 for a can of Jim Beam and dry is a very expensive option, seeing as you can buy from the bottleshop for about $2-50 a can.

[DeeJay]

There was a well known pub crawl from the beach at Port Melbourne, up City road then down one side of Clarendon street South Melb and up the other side to the City. About 4 klm
over 25 pubs in all not counting the 100m off the main crawl pubs :eek: and there were a few of them too. I know of a half dozen that are now residences, probably a lot more are now, as I have'nt revisited Port for a while. Gosh I tried enuf times with my mates to complete that crawl:cool:. The trouble was you would get to a really good pub that was firing up and end up forgetting all about it.
Never even got to the South Melb pubs, from memory:angel:

[rick130]

Yup, the bl00dy golden arches have go the market shot to bits, for one curious reason...

...easily available, generally clean, safe, toilets...

...the business is built around a dunny...


GQ


I'll use their loos but I wont eat their food :D
I try and support the lil cafe's as I like decent coffee....;)

[Slunnie]

There's hardly a pub from north of the Harbour Bridge to Newcastle, these days.
There are heaps up to Hornsby, just not necessarily on the Pacific Hwy.

[rick130]

Possibly with a room full of Pro Harts.:D


:lol2: no, no Pro's here Des. My art broker advised against him :p

[Slunnie]

A new sign appeared just prior to this edifice... it says (words to the effect of) 'last fuel on highway for 105ks'

(which is wrong)

...wonder how much BP paid the RTA to have this misleading sign erected?

GQ

I reckon! I recall when the last northbound fuel was built (by shell) before the expressway on Pennant Hills Rd and they started advertising that they were the last fuel before the expressway. The BP before it then started advertising as the last "BP fuel" before the freeway. :lol2:

[harro]

With the government introducing new liquor laws, is the pub going to die a slow death.
Baz.

Maybe for suburban and city pubs but nothing beats a cold beer on the verandah of an outback pub and up here we have heaps.
Travel to them makes regular patronage an issue but all the local ones are now airconditioned and sealed up for the tourists.

Real Pubs or nothing!

Cheers,
Paul:twobeers:

[rovercare]

Pubs have been dying for years. With the increase of RBT .

And there it lies, the downturn of ther country pub:(

Not the fact off drink driving blatantly pis.sed, but getting done at .07 driving home from a few pots in the pub was the demise

[Bigbjorn]

And there it lies, the downturn of ther country pub:(

Not the fact off drink driving blatantly pis.sed, but getting done at .07 driving home from a few pots in the pub was the demise

The breathalyser destroyed the bar trade in most suburban pubs too. My local used to fill its large parking lot on Thursday and Friday nights, and the surrounding streets. People would spill out of the public bar into the parking lot, because of the crush inside. Within a few years of RBT's you could walk in and get a spot at the bar any time, or a parking space right at the door. The liquor barns came into their own as people drank at home after RBT.

[Quiggers]

..and just now, I had a few up the road at the concrete box called the 'tavern', (collecting my meagre Melb Cup winnings); my near neighbour and I walked home, he's a copper and said 'good thing we're not driving, the boys are out tonight'....

..and as he said that, one of the patrol guys pulled up and asked him if we'd like a ride home.....

i'm surrounded by teachers, coppers and retired farmers, and life in the country is very nice...

and it's raining

GQ

[graceysdad]

Pubs have changed heaps, I dont go to pubs anymore unless I am going through a country town with a nice old inviting pub like the Royal Mail at Braidwood, theres a pub! or the Commercial in Strathalbyn SA another good old pub, hope they stay around for a few more years yet.

[rick130]

how many realise that most NSW country pub licenses disappeared as a direct result of Sydney based owners buying the license so they could transfer the license and instal more pokies in their city establishment.....;)

Anyway, it isn't all doom and gloom for the country pub..or maybe I just live in the drinkers capital of Oz...
Murrurundi has a population of roughly 750 people, yet has three old pubs, two clubs (Bowls and Golf) and a bottle shop attached to the General Store/Supermarket. A lot of the farm labourers I know also have had their drivers licences revoked by Her Majesty.....

[RonMcGr]

Our Pub in Albany Creek, QLD is doing very well. Any night you go there for dinner, you have to book in adavance!!

The place is always packed and hard to find a park. Oddly enough, the Police staion is diagonally across the road :)

We go down there occasionally as it is only a 200m walk from our house :D

What's the saying?, Position, position :D

[numpty]

Pubs have changed heaps, I dont go to pubs anymore unless I am going through a country town with a nice old inviting pub like the Royal Mail at Braidwood, theres a pub! or the Commercial in Strathalbyn SA another good old pub, hope they stay around for a few more years yet.

The Peel Inn at Nundle is a great old country pub too. The current publicans father won the licence in a card game many years ago.

[DaveS3]

There are few if any real pubs left in Melbourne - its all that trendy crap now, but people still insist on calling them pubs.

There are many other little factors which all combine to be large overhead costs, such as increases in rates for APRA music / song licenses ect which can add up to be big $$$.

Just on a side note - there's still a great run of 'pubs' to play 18 holes of Golf in the City (aim for the hole in one at each hole;))

This Friday nights activity covered :angel:

[JohnE]

I think its all to be fair and equitable,
as the only ones that could afford liquor licences were the well heeled or consortiums of interested parties.

Having been to europe a few times, its all fair and equitable, you want a beer at a cafe with your coffee, you buy one, you want to go to a bar to drink you go there, or get a takeaway from the local garage. no problems. You don;t drink and just want a coffee well thats all you buy,
without going into too much controversy about here, but grog is demonised here, only allowed to be sold in the 'correct' places.
I wouldn't use the yanks as an example, i still think you have to be over 21 over there to purchase and go into a bar.


john

[rick130]

IIRC it was $15,000 per year for a liquor license for a cafe or restaurant in NSW :eek: