Every day in France, cafés and bistros close without finding new owners. The causes of the decline of bistros in France are well known, and we mentioned them last week: new consumer habits, increased competition from fast food, unbearable costs, a series of crises…

This situation is sufficiently worrying that the social and cultural practices of bistros and cafés have ended up being listed as part of France’s intangible heritage.

One of our readers’ comments led us to question the very French nature of this situation, while in the south of Europe, conviviality venues continue to live their lives and attract customers.

But are we that sure? Just because I see full tapas bars in Madrid doesn’t mean that others aren’t closing, and that the situation isn’t worrying in less touristy cities. So it’s not very easy to gather figures on the subject, but I’ve tried.

80 pubs close every month in the UK

Pubs are undergoing massive closure, with around 50 to 80 properties closing every month in 2024. A decline attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, tax increases, and changing consumer habits (such as the rise of home consumption). Nearly 750 pubs would have closed in the first half of 2024 alone, a situation the industry describes as a crisis.

The figures speak for themselves:

– 1990: Around 63,500 pubs.

– 2000: Around 60,800 pubs.

– 2023: Around. 39,404 pubs.

Sources : 1, 2.

Italian osteria in decline

Figures are hard to come by, but the number of Osterias by 2023 was just 1,730. It’s impossible to believe that this typical restaurant hasn’t suffered a terrible decline to such a low figure, given that there are 40,000 bistros in France!

It seems that it was precisely the fear of a real crisis that prompted the authorities to finally hold a count that didn’t exist before.

Without quoting figures, the specialized press speaks of a decline that accelerated in the 2000s. As in France, this decline can be explained by rising rents and competition from tourist restaurants, which are pushing these historic establishments towards closure, especially in major cities such as Rome and Venice. These restaurants are also facing challenges due to changing tastes and the younger generation’s preference for more modern, diversified experiences.

Bars in Spain in freefall

It’s also hard to find specific figures for tapas bars in Spain, but those for bars are publicly available, and we can imagine that tapas bars account for a significant proportion.

What we do know is that in 2000 there were some 200,000 bars in Spain, including tapas bars. According to Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), by January 1, 2023, the total number of bars in Spain had fallen to 168,065, marking a 17% decrease on 2021.

Here again, the press cites the same factors: economic pressures, demographic changes and changing consumer preferences.

It’s not restaurants that are dying, but conviviality.

These figures may seem surprising, since it’s not difficult to eat out in these countries, as it is in France.

In fact, other businesses are opening and expanding: notably in the fast-food and fine dining sectors.

If fast food is no surprise to anyone, it’s important to be aware of the premiumization of the restaurant offer just about everywhere in the world. And it’s easy to find the figures: the Michelin Guide is the authoritative source.

If we look only at Michelin-starred restaurants, we get this:

At Travelguys, we love Michelin-starred restaurants, but they’re not what you’d call convivial places in the strict sense of the word, despite the excellent times we’ve had there.

It’s harder to compile figures for fast food, so we’ve relied on artificial intelligence, albeit with its limitations.

All this does not explain everything, nor is it enough to replace the traditional conviviality venues that have disappeared, but there is a trend towards more upmarket and downmarket offerings, to the detriment of the historic middle ground.

A trend I’ll leave to industry professionals to explain, as my knowledge of the sector stops there.

Bottom line

What is disappearing is not the possibility of eating or dining, but rather a certain art of living, a form of conviviality specific to traditional establishments such as bistros, osterias, tapas bars and pubs. While fast-food and gourmet restaurants are flourishing, they are not replacing these places for meeting and sharing, which were an integral part of the daily lives of many locals and tourists alike. It remains to be seen whether these cultural spaces will be able to reinvent themselves to survive, or whether they will become relics of a bygone era.

In any case, it’s good to see that the press is taking notice and that the authorities are starting to tackle the problem head on.

Image : convivial venue by DavideAngelini via Shutterstock.

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