IN the 1970s, pubs accounted for roughly 90% of beer sales in Britain and Northern Ireland; that has steadily given way to supermarket beer, especially since the pandemic when supermarkets briefly sold 100%.
Why would a supermarket chain want to reverse that trend?
Lidl has just broken ground on its very first pub in Northern Ireland at a site beside its store in Dundonald.
But the move comes as a direct result of Northern Ireland’s strict alcohol licensing laws.
Lidl had been unable to obtain a standard off-sales licence to sell alcohol from its supermarket, and instead secured a pub licence, which allows it to include an off-sales section, according to the BBC.
The pub will be located in a separate building next to the supermarket and will have room for more than 50 people.
Lidl expects it to open in the next few months and says it will offer beers, wines and spirits.
Licensing rules in Northern Ireland require businesses to purchase a licence surrendered by another business, like a closing pub.
They must also pass an 'inadequacy' test, showing there are not enough licensed premises in the area.
Lidl was unable to meet this test for an off-licence but succeeded for a pub, partly because a couple of pubs had closed down nearby.
This strange arrangement means we probably won't see Lidl pubs popping up in London and Liverpool.
But it also deepens the ongoing debate about licensing laws, particularly after proposals to reform the surrender system were rejected by Northern Ireland’s communities minister last year.
Although the Republic of Ireland also has strict licensing rules, in the past few years there have been notable changes, like the removal of the ban on alcohol on Good Friday in 2018.
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See More: Alcohol, Lidl, Northern Ireland, Pubs
