That's a good point.

Not only people tend to drink less nowadays but also when people mention these kinds of development (like movie theater decline and so on), they forget to mention all of these are just different kinds of entertainment.

And there has never been so many ways to entertain oneself so the competition is stiff.

Gas inflation? Aren't most pubs in the UK walkable (vs say, US bars)?

A location only reachable by car would be a suboptimal choice for any establishment mainly selling alcoholic beverages.

You just described America.

Suboptimal?

Not necessarily. In cities people tend to be disparately located so usually ends up via public transport. In small towns the local pub can be a 30 minute walk away or a 30 minute taxi away depending on how many of them have closed down and the spread of the car-focused structure of some towns.

The petrol/gas inflation, plus the incursion of Uber, really screwed the prices of the taxis up as well.

Indeed many are and in the age of working from home I expect many neighbourhood pubs to do well.

We're certainly going more often than before.

It's also a great way to get to know your neighbors and build community.

They mean natural gas, the stuff you burn in the kitchen to heat a pot. Not gasoline.