Pubs and bars across Leeds have faced decades of decline - as have boozers across the North.
The number of pubs in the city has decreased by 23 per cent from 2001 to 2019, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.
The North in general has lost one in every nine of its pubs and bars in the past decade, with the number falling from more than 11,100 in 2010 to around 9,900 in 2020.
Thom Hetherington, chief executive of Northern Restaurant and Bar, the biggest hospitality exhibition in the region, said "there's never been a harder time to run a pub".
"You put Covid on top and it’s frankly ridiculous," he told reporter Annie Gouk in the latest episode of Reach's North in Numbers podcast.
"It’s a very, very competitive market and pubs are having to be very smart and work very hard to survive.
"It’s a pretty crushing time for the industry I think."
The North in Numbers podcast tells the human stories behind the various statistics for the North of England.
This episode explores the state of pubs and bars in the North - from the long-term decline in the number of boozers across the region, to the recent boom in major cities, and of course the ongoing impact of the pandemic.
Most people agree that the decline is at least partly due to changes in regulation, with moves such as the smoking ban and the crackdown on drink driving undoubtedly having an impact on the industry.
However, a big part of it is also to do with major changes in the ways we drink and socialise - now it is often cheaper to drink at home, while consumer tastes are becoming more eclectic.
The North in Numbers is a Laudable production. You can find it on all major podcast platforms.
