This Province Has the Most Pubs in the Netherlands (But There’s Bad News Too..)
We wrote about it recently. Things aren’t going well for the brown pub: more and more brown pubs are being forced to close their doors. But it’s not only brown pubs that are struggling. More and more cafés are closing, according to recent research.
By pub and café, we mean the same thing; ‘a place where matters of village or city life are discussed while enjoying all possible kinds of drinks,’ as Koninklijke Horeca Nederland puts it so pleasantly. The first cafés emerged in the 17th century as coffeehouses. Gradually, pubs where people mainly drank beer also began calling themselves cafés, and a wide variety of cafés emerged.
Decline in cafés
Over the past 10 years, the number of cafés has fallen by almost a quarter: from 11,905 pubs at the end of 2012 to just 9,135 in 2023. This year, the decline is continuing even more sharply, by no less than 6 percent, according to figures from BoldData.
Price increases are the final blow
The decline in the number of cafés can partly be attributed to the smoking ban introduced in 2008. This year, there has been a strikingly sharp decline of 6 percent. No fewer than 575 bars had to close. At present, 9,135 cafés are still registered with the Chamber of Commerce. “Café owners have been seeing their visitor numbers decline for years. Coronavirus (do you remember all the measures?) and rising prices have been the final blow for many pubs,” says Daan Wolff of BoldData about the sharp decline. And the prediction is that the price of beer will rise even further..
Pub tigers in Limburg
Most pubs can still be found in North Holland: 1,715 in total. Followed by South Holland (1,680 cafés) and North Brabant (1,490 cafés). Great if you’re spending a day in Breda or an afternoon in Leiden. The bad news is for pub tigers in Limburg, where the number of cafés is drying up fastest, with an 8% decline. With 900 pubs, there’s still plenty to choose from, but let’s hope that decline doesn’t continue. Because an evening at the pub, or spending entire afternoons on a sun-drenched terrace with a cold beer, is something we really don’t want to miss!
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