A quarter of the pubs in the UK have shut down in the last 10 years according to Office of National Statistics’s most recent report. What’s happening in Canton?
The pub culture is slowly dying out with time.Forty pubs in Cardiff have shut down in the last 10 years. Seven of these were in Canton. Namely, The Corporation, The Duke of Clarence, The Insole, The Foresters, Ty Pwll Coch, The Maltings and The Royal Exchange.
Paul Coombs from The Canton, one of the oldest pubs in the area, gives more insight into the issue.
”Canton has changed over the last 6-7 years, maybe because the youngsters are not drinkin’ any more…When I was young, the first thing you did, after a day’s work, was go to a pub.”
Paul Coombs has been running The Canton for over 25 yearsPaul has been doing this job for 25 years and has seen the changing attitudes towards alcohol.
“They have all shut down because of the same reason, it’s very competitive. Business is business…The rise of the supermarkets and the smoking ban are to blame for sure,” says Paul. He believes that the smoking ban hasn’t helped out, as even the non-smokers don’t go out a lot now because their friends smoke.
‘Even if it was a pound a pint here, I don’t think I can attract people anymore, apart from people you don’t want anyways…people now are used to drinking at home.’
The Cowbridge Road in Canton was famous for its pub crawl called ‘The Canton Mile’. People would often go out to enjoy a few pints in the pubs in the area.
The situation is deteriorating since 2008, and the future looks bleak.
A Map of Canton’s closed pubs
A map of pubs shut down in Canton area since 2008. Source: WalesOnlineWhat do they look like now?
The Corporation shut down earlier this year.
The Duke of Clarence on Clive Road which shut down in 2015 has been demolished.
The Foresters, another favourite on Cowbridge road was closed in 2013.
The Insole, off Harvey Street, which was closed in 2014, has been running as a not so successful support solution office.
The Royal Exchange was shut in 2009. It changed to Robin’s Bar/KC’s Bar/Sultan Grill House and is now called Dubai Nights.