Today the BBC has released a report using LDC data revealing how the UK's high street is evolving. The report shows that traditional entertainment venues are decreasing in favour of coffee shops, restaurants and other leisure operators.
Pubs, comedy clubs and bingo halls are all disappearing from our high streets and are being replaced by lounge bars, juice bars, cake makers and specialty restaurants.
In terms of numbers of leisure operators, cafes, pubs, takeaway restaurants and bookmakers are all in the top 10. Jonathan Morris, a historian at the University of Hertfordshire who has studied the rise of the coffee shop claims that 90s sitcoms such as Friends and Seinfeld were responsible for the 'cultural revolution of coffee shops' in the early 1990s. The image below shows the vast coverage of just one coffee shop brand, Costa, who have the highest number of coffee shops in the UK.
Map showing Costa outlets across the UK. Source LDO
Indian, Italian and Chinese are the top three most popular restaurants across the UK, although the data reveals regional differences, with Leeds developing a taste for Spanish cuisine and a rise in American stye diners in Bristol.
For the full report, please see the BBC website: Coffee shops on the march as pubs decline, town centre data shows
