mango5
Endeavour era
Antic surely are a dodgy outfit that run some decent-seeming pubs. I know it's been previously discussed on these boards - mainly in the Brixton forum but thought it more of a broader topic. Somehow Antic seems to run the pub of choice more often than not in south London and I don't really know if there's another small-ish chain with a reliably good offer.
Does anyone know what's happened about the living wage campaign? There's been very little news this year - and I imagine any successes would have been publicised. Antic's reputation for rescuing and reinvigorating venues is perhaps overgenerous. The Sun and Doves in Camberwell was snapped up by Antic after the landlord (founder of the now defunct fair pint campaign) was driven out of business. Many of the 11 put up for sale last year were fairly new Antic pubs (e.g. The Hope in Peckham which was a new build in any case, and The Manor in Walworth which is only a couple of years old). The original company closed down a few years ago and was quickly bought/reopened by a firm with exceedingly close connections.
Is it just a question of 'hold your nose' and look the other way? There have been several largely Urbanite sessions in Antic pubs this year. The beer is decent and the granny chic is not too formulaic, so perhaps the sharp practices are not worthy of our attention. Personally I would rather know more about Antic shitness as a reminder not to go to them.
Other than this over-hyped Shoreditch effort I wonder if there can there be any such thing as an ethical pub in London? This 2013 effort suggests not - I don't think it was repeated and can't find the list of nominees. The focus these days seems to be on community ownership and community development which are more top-down than they seem and no guarantee of being a decent boozer.
If we can make a list I would happily arrange an Urban drinking tour
Does anyone know what's happened about the living wage campaign? There's been very little news this year - and I imagine any successes would have been publicised. Antic's reputation for rescuing and reinvigorating venues is perhaps overgenerous. The Sun and Doves in Camberwell was snapped up by Antic after the landlord (founder of the now defunct fair pint campaign) was driven out of business. Many of the 11 put up for sale last year were fairly new Antic pubs (e.g. The Hope in Peckham which was a new build in any case, and The Manor in Walworth which is only a couple of years old). The original company closed down a few years ago and was quickly bought/reopened by a firm with exceedingly close connections.
Is it just a question of 'hold your nose' and look the other way? There have been several largely Urbanite sessions in Antic pubs this year. The beer is decent and the granny chic is not too formulaic, so perhaps the sharp practices are not worthy of our attention. Personally I would rather know more about Antic shitness as a reminder not to go to them.
Other than this over-hyped Shoreditch effort I wonder if there can there be any such thing as an ethical pub in London? This 2013 effort suggests not - I don't think it was repeated and can't find the list of nominees. The focus these days seems to be on community ownership and community development which are more top-down than they seem and no guarantee of being a decent boozer.
If we can make a list I would happily arrange an Urban drinking tour
