Last orders: Britain’s pubs struggle to survive in an atomized, remote-work world

Over the bar of a 200-year-old pub in southeast London hangs a sign: “For the people of East Greenwich, by the people of East Greenwich.” What might sound like a pithy slogan is in fact the truth. The Star of Greenwich, which almost closed for good last year, has been saved by the local community after three residents — all of whom hold down full-time jobs — came to the rescue of their “local.” “Once these things go, they never come back,” says James Gadsby Peet, who banded together with two friends to take over running the pub. It’s not the drinks that matter here, he says, but preserving “a community space for people to come together.” Directors and co-founders of the Star of Greenwich community pub are Lisa Donohoe, left, James Gadsby Peet and Kirsty Dunlop. It’s a family tradition for us.” Keeping prices low — a pint of beer costs from $6, compared with $9 at many London pubs — and offering the space for free to community groups and activities including kids’ clubs, Italian classes and local folk musicians has eased concerns about gentrification and fostered new connections, Gadsby Peet says. “There’s a true sense of community that falls away when pubs disappear,” says Charo Havermans, a historian at University College London who studies the role of pubs in public life.