On Feb 17, 2:22*pm, Roland Perry wrote:
In message 4f3a485f.166483843@localhost, at 11:44:10 on Tue, 14 Feb
2012, Cynic remarked:

I have a fridge containing drinks, tables and chairs in my house, for
example, but I still visit pubs on occassion even though the same
activity in my own home would, if anything, be more comfortable.

The societal sea change in the last generation has been exactly that -
homes becoming more comfortable than pubs, rather than vice versa.
Although some pubs try quite hard to keep their comforts ahead of the
game, that's often at the expense (no pun intended) of pricing
themselves out of the market.

Exactly my point - the average home is just about as comfortable as it
is possible to get, and that aspect would not improve significantly if
you won the lottery. *You go to a pub for the *social* aspect, not the
comfort

Thus fragmenting their customer base, with the "comfort" aspect having
to move its focus upmarket from "drinking" to "eating".

Quite true! I don't go to the local boozer at all anymore, but I eat
out as a matter of routine - where, indeed, I am keen to dine in
physical comfort.