CityStack London Pub Collection and The London Pub Explorer have come together once again to urge people to visit an independent pub in the capital on Saturday 15 February in a bid to boost footfall during the post-festive slump and ‘dry January’.
Pub enthusiasts and TikTok creators Phil Carr, who has more than 987k followers, and Historic Pub Crawls, which is followed by 154k people on Instagram, and many others will also be supporting the movement.
The organisers, which have more than 40k followers combined, and other advocates for the event will be actively promoting the initiative through their social media communities.
London Pub Explorer Alistair Von Lion told The Morning Advertiser (The MA): “London’s treasured pub landscape is reducing at break neck speed and with the challenges facing the industry I sadly see the number of closures continue to soar in 2025.
“To combat that and increase the chances of sustainability I encourage all lovers of independent pubs to visit their locals, or indies further afield, during January and further into Q1 of this year.
“It’s important to not be part of the symptom by failing to support a valued local yourself yet complaining if it disappears. See you at the bar!”
Incredibly helpful
Each pub participating will be set targets for pints to sell, which will be communicated to patrons in a bid to encourage them to help venues reach their target.
The Gladstone Arms in south London has a target of 100 pints and is hosting a rock band from 8pm with free entry.
Siblings Megha and Gaurav Khanna, who run the Gladstone Arms, said: “With all the challenges independent pubs like ours are facing - rising costs and Londoners having less budget for going out - this kind of initiative is incredibly helpful in bringing people to discover places like ours, which they might not have otherwise.”
Another participating venue is the Old Ivy House in east London, which has a target of 50 pubs for the day and is hosting a fundraising event for mental health charity CALM.
Operator Kate Davidson said: “It is such a great initiative, as special events are an excellent way to attract people to visit pubs.
“Summer enjoys the benefits of international football tournaments and the good weather while the tail end of the year hosts numerous Christmas parties. January and February, until the Six Nations commences, can be painfully quiet.”
The initiative was first launched last year with the aim of supporting communities across London and raising awareness of the challenges faced by the sector, including the number of closures.
It comes as more than one pub per day disappeared from communities in England and Wales last year, according to analysis of Government data by Altus Group.
Support and promote
As well as celebrating and supporting “cherished community hubs”, the day also aims to help combat loneliness within communities.
Von Lion has been championing independent venues in London since 2006 and is known for his photographic and written works on pubs as well as hosting walking tours of pubs in the city.
Meanwhile CityStack was founded in 2021 by Alison Boutoille and aims to help consumers identify independent pubs in London and make budgeting for going out easier amid the cost-of-living-crisis through the sale of ‘giftsets’ containing information and discounts.
While CityStack currently only features venues in London, its founder hopes to expand the venture across the UK in the future.
Boutoille told The MA: “Our voucher scheme, designed to support and promote independent pubs, is an excellent way to encourage visits during dry January - a particularly challenging time for small businesses that must manage increasing operating costs despite reduced footfall.
“The vouchers, often received as Christmas gifts, spark enthusiasm for redemption shortly afterwards.
“However, we identified the need for an additional incentive to attract those participating in dry January to visit independent pubs just after this period.
“Leveraging the power of ‘FOMO,’ events are a fantastic way to generate footfall.
“That’s why we teamed up with the London Pub Explorer to support independent pubs and raise awareness about the importance of visiting these small businesses to help prevent their closure.”
Venues in London wanting to join CityStack or Support an Independent Pub Day should contact CityStack or the London Pub Explorer directly.
