Only one pub has closed in Stratford recently - The Oddfellows Arms, which had had a bad reputation for years. A couple of restaurants have closed down over the last year, which I took to be a sign of overcapacity on town.

They have a captive audience! Before all day drinking was commonly allowed I regularly used to go to Stratford because I knew I'd find somewhere for a Sunday afternoon pint.

Coventry has a high rate of pub failures, I'd love to know what Stratford's rate is.

There's already a general feeling that there's too many cafes and restaurants in Stratford, and there's more on the way! There are some really good ones; but with many pubs & eating places in SoA, I get the feeling that they don't try too hard to make themselves better than average, as they're raking the money in from one-off visits from tourists.

Cafes or pubs, both are of little use without real wealth creation.

An interesting article on changes in our social behaviour: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38609692