Helpful Brits keep visiting the pubs despite cost of living crisis hitting their wallets

dailystar.co.uk:

boozers despite the cost of living crisis hitting them hard in the wallet.Punters are keeping the wolf from the door for many landlords who say they’ve not seen a “change in behaviour at the moment” in the Great British Boozer.And they’re doing all they can to keep the cheap drink flowing despite monster 9% inflation by “taking costs on the chin”.They want to ensure your local pub “remains the home of affordable socialising”.Marston’s boss Andrew Andrea, said sales in the past six weeks have been “encouraging” despite wine and food rocketing by at least 8%.He said: “We are navigating our way through cost increases.“The pub remains the home of affordable socialising and has continually proven its resilience in previous times of economic challenge.”The firm is changing up the grub it offers to make a profit while not pricing out customers.He said: “We have significantly reappraised the menus across the business.To stay up to date with all the latest news, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here“You might have thought people would trade down but people are still buying the same product.”But Mitchells & Butlers and Marstons, who between them run thousands of pubs, fear they are on borrowed time and have warned food prices will have to go up soon.

boss Phil Urban admitted the “trading environment remains difficult”.Other firms vowed to suck up cost increases.Clive Watson, chair of the City Pub Group, which operates 45 pubs across England and Wales, said: “If we are not raising our prices, and we don’t think that it is the right thing to do at the moment, then we are going to take these costs on the chin.”.