Punters staying away from England’s reopened pubs and restaurants, new data shows

Sales down by about 40% year-on-year in fresh blow for hospitality industry following easing of lockdown

Pub
Pub-goers return for a socially distanced drink in Soho, London
(Image credit: Peter Summers/Getty Images)

Hopes of a post-lockdown boom for England’s pubs are draining away as customers continue to stay away from reopened bars and restaurants nationwide.

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Joe Evans is the world news editor at TheWeek.co.uk. He joined the team in 2019 and held roles including deputy news editor and acting news editor before moving into his current position in early 2021. He is a regular panellist on The Week Unwrapped podcast, discussing politics and foreign affairs. 

Before joining The Week, he worked as a freelance journalist covering the UK and Ireland for German newspapers and magazines. A series of features on Brexit and the Irish border got him nominated for the Hostwriter Prize in 2019. Prior to settling down in London, he lived and worked in Cambodia, where he ran communications for a non-governmental organisation and worked as a journalist covering Southeast Asia. He has a master’s degree in journalism from City, University of London, and before that studied English Literature at the University of Manchester.