The Pub Story

My village is fairly large...around 4,400 residents.  If you asked me (not the locals).....I'd say that it's way upscale and few of the population of today are of the working class.

A decade ago....they had one authentic German restaurant, an Italian restaurant, a take-pizza shop, and two pubs.

The pubs?  They both have shut down and are simply empty buildings today.  The picture?  The bigger of the two pubs.  It's in a great location, within eight minutes walking of any residence of the town.  There just wasn't enough business.

It's an odd thing to live in a German village of this size and character.....without a pub.   Twenty years ago....guys got off work, and at least one night a week.....breezed through two or three beers at the pub.  That habit of a night out with the guys?  Gone.  The rules on smoking?  They probably helped a little.  And the fact that there isn't a working class left in the town.....that helped as well.

So, tonight...if you wanted a simple wine or drink.....your choice is the German restaurant bar (barely big enough for six people), or the Italian restaurant bar which might be able seat eight people.  They get picky if you take a table and avoid ordering food (their profit margin with the tables only exists with food sales).

A place for younger Germans to hang out?  A guy could probably operate a pub in town and take in some profits....but a two-man or three-man operation will be tough to sustain.

The end of a German tradition.