Family

The Lock In Podcast

We kid you not....

04-Dec-2023 By Ed Bedington

Children and pubs, a classic combination, or not! The Lock In team take a look at the joys of targeting the family market and how pubs can make it work.

GBPA Best Pub for Families: The Onslow Arms

29-Sep-2021 By Ed Bedington

A West Sussex pub that offers a little something for everyone was celebrating after being names the Best Pub for Families at the Great British Pub Awards 2021.

Community raises £60k for pub-zoo as owner urges Government 'don't crush' sector

25-Jan-2021 By Emily Hawkins

The owner of a pub which also boasts a zoo on-site has slammed the Government for not doing more to help the sector and said his business “wouldn’t be here” without its regulars.

Lounges chain will open up to 25 more sites

15-Aug-2018 By Emily Hawkins

Loungers' retro-inspired restaurant and bar brand Lounges is set to expand across the UK, with four sites opening this month.

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Family Winner - The Boot, Hertfordshire

08-Sep-2016 By MA

Zoe Eliasson and her partner Nick Idle have a long association with their pub, the Boot, in Sarratt, Hertfordshire. 

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Family finalist - The Wrygarth Inn, Great Hatfield, East Yorkshire

08-Sep-2016 By MA

Situated off the beaten track, the Wrygarth Inn has to punch well above its weight to ensure it can pull in the punters both locally and from further afield.

Top Tips

5 tips to make your pub more family friendly

20-Jul-2016 By Sara Hussein

Pubs are popular go-to venues for families to socialise and spend quality time with one another as well as meet up with other families. Yet there are many that are not making the most of their facilities to create a child-friendly atmosphere, which could...

Occasions

Fuller’s celebrates Father’s Day with 'My Dad’s Pub' competition

03-Jun-2016 By James Evison

Fuller's plans to celebrate Father's Day this month with a competition for dads to have their own pub for the day.

Good weather and early Easter leads to boom in March leisure spending

19-Apr-2016 By Emily Sutherland

This year’s early Easter holiday has led to a boom in consumer spending throughout March according to the latest Greene King Leisure Tracker.

city news

Greene King leisure tracker: Spending falls harder in London than regions

23-Mar-2016 By MCA

Consumer confidence remains fragile with 34% of people feeling worse about their financial situation than five years ago, compared to 29% who feel better.

Making the most of Mothering Sunday

16-Feb-2016 By Nigel Huddleston

It’s one of those blue riband days in the pub calendar, the day when mums the country over are being treated to a meal. In fact, demand for space in pubs on Mother’s Day is at such a level that bookings can be extended to all day parts and across the...

More than quarter plan to spend more this Christmas

23-Sep-2015 By James Wallin, MC Allegra FS

More than a quarter of UK adults plan to increase their spend on Christmas this year and over half will match last year’s spending, according to the latest Greene King Leisure Spend Tracker.

Business booster

Father's Day is now big business

18-May-2015 By Phil Mellows

Once dismissed as a gimmick, now the annual day is an opportunity to cash in. PMA reports.

Pub value brands capturing ‘hard pressed family’ vote

05-Nov-2014 By Mark Wingett, M&C Report

Spirit’s Flaming Grill and Fayre & Square concepts, plus Greene King’s Hungry Horse and Whitbread’s Brewer’s Fayre, all feature in the top 10 brands that are most likely to capture custom from “hard-pressed families”, according to new research by...

UK leisure spend grows 2% year-on-year

24-Sep-2014 By John Harrington, M&C Report

The average British household spent 2% (£5) more on leisure in August than in the same month last year, driven by growth in eating out (+11% to £98.09) and mitigated by a 2% fall in drinking out spend (to £50.35).

UK's oldest clubber puts Snifter to shame

20-Dec-2012

Snifter thought he was getting a bit too old for the nightclub scene, but try telling that to the “UK’s oldest clubber” who celebrated his 90th birthday at Batchwood Hall nightclub in St Albans on Saturday 8 December.

Pubs are a safe place to forget your children

11-Jun-2012 By Mark Daniels

Today, there’s been a lot of brouhaha about Mr & Mrs Cameron’s slight oversight when departing a pub after enjoying a family Sunday lunch.

Family pubs: learning from the big boys

17-May-2011 By Michelle Perrett

Taking kids to the pub is a nice idea, but it can become an uncomfortable ordeal. Michelle Perrett looks at what experienced operators can teach pubs...

Lincs pub sets up a Santa's Grotto

16-Dec-2010 By Gurjit Degun

A Lincolnshire pub is offering kids the chance to meet Santa whilst parents relax with a drink. Batemans pub the Bricklayers Arms in Boston has set...

Special relationship: the trials of family-run pubs

25-May-2010 By Phil Mellows

Phil Mellows talks to some successful family-run pubs about the trials of living and working together.

Millionaire lottery winner takes on local pub

09-Mar-2010 By James Wilmore

A £13m lottery jackpot winner has given up her life of leisure to take on her local pub. Sandra Fosbrook has become tenant at the Stag at Five...

Mark Daniels: This Saturday...

13-Nov-2009

This Saturday, I have a family wedding to go to. In Norwich. Now, if you're a publican with a well-meaning extended family, like me, then you'll be...

Father proud of twins success

07-Apr-2009 By Matt Eley Matt

A proud father believes his sons could be the youngest twins in the country to be issued with their personal licences. Andrew and James Chambers have...

Pub in mourning banned from selling alcohol

03-Apr-2008 By James Wilmore

A grieving son has slammed a council for banning his pub from selling alcohol after he failed to change licence details within a week of his father's...

Chris Maclean: Down with the kids

05-Nov-2007 By Chris Maclean

There are children in the restaurant. Don't get me wrong, I like children. I was even one myself once. But these children are a nightmare. Here, in...

Heading the family way

07-Jun-2007

They may be small in stature and easy to trip over, they may have runny noses and grazed knees, but as we enter a smoke-free age, there's one...

Something in the Ayres

05-Jun-2007 By Eleanor Goodman

A Gloucestershire brewery has rewarded two brothers for decades of custom by giving them their own pint glasses.Swindon-based Arkell's Brewery, which...

East & West Midlands

01-Feb-2007

The Greyhound Hinckley, Leicestershire At the Greyhound, Howard and Sue Williams are winning the generation game by catering successfully for the...

Wales

11-Jan-2007

Ty Gwyn Hotel Llanfair PG, Anglesey For any non-Welsh family buying its first pub in the principality, relocating to...

Spread Xmas cheer to people in need

14-Dec-2006

The LTC calls for donations to assist those struggling during the festive period Christmas is the season of goodwill and a time for giving. So, in...

Family returns to pub after 60 years

08-Nov-2006

If The Red Lion in the Northampton village of Kislingbury feels like home to new licensee Paul Collins, it's not surprising - he has reclaimed...

Oliver's musical Pedigree is out

05-Oct-2006

Musical talent tends to run in families, but Snifter still felt taken aback to hear that Steven Oliver, the saxophone-playing boss of the Union Pub...

Why happy kids mean happy pub

27-Jun-2006

Over the next few weeks pubs across the country will be flexing their family-friendly muscles in preparation for the summer holidays. Parents are...

THE GUV'NOR

26-Jan-2006

So, Tony Blair thinks he can legislate and make everyone show "respect". His "agenda" involves intervening early to "help" problem families and...

After 36 years behind the bar of the Alma in Uckfield, Joy H

17-Mar-2005

Joy Hughes is 18 times your average tenant. At least according to the recent pubco inquiry report, that claims the average tenant only stays in the...

The husband and wife

10-Mar-2005

Nader and Shaheen Khan are complete newcomers and view the pub trade as a fresh challenge. They have both proven themselves in business ­ Nader...

Home Counties: The Poacher

29-Jan-2004

Tudeley, Kent Jason and Debbie Emery had their work cut out when they took over the Poacher. The previous licensee didn't encourage children and even...

Children's menus

07-Jun-2001

With the forthcoming reform of licensing laws aimed at making it easier for families to use pubs, licensees need to seriously consider this market as...

Pubs accused of failing kids as families call for continental-style culture

30-Oct-2000

Many publicans are antagonising potential customers simply by obeying the law on admitting children. A new report found that parents blame licensees...