Big Czech breweries financing pub facelifts
Pubs and restaurants in the Czech Republic have been under great financial strain for almost two years and many have put off renovation projects indefinitely. Now, however, some of the country’s top breweries are helping hostelries fund facelifts, iDnes.cz reported.
The news site said that this was taking place on a quid pro quo basis. Breweries help with renovations, provide fittings and install advertising, while the pubs commit to regularly ordering set amounts of beer and other beverages.
To date Plzeňský Prazdroj, maker of Pilsner Urquell, has alone helped spruce up 2,300 restaurants and pubs around the Czech Republic, iDnes.cz said.
Hundreds of others have received support in this regard from Budějovický Budvar, Staropramen and Heineken, which owns Czech brews Krušovice and Starobrno.
Plzeňský Prazdroj spokesman Zdeněk Kovář told iDnes.cz that the company paid for and installed signs and promotional items, as well as financing new facades and other major exterior modifications.
Mr. Kovář said that this was done on an individual, pub-by-pub basis and that Plzeňský Prazdroj also provided tailor-made advice with regard to advertising and design.
He said Plzeňský Prazdroj’s aim was to reduce “visual smog” on Czech streets, as well as to assist pub operators, including with the installation of effective advertising.
In addition a Plzeňský Prazdroj project with the English-language name Fresh Outlet aims to help operators save energy.
A spokesperson told iDnes.cz that the total amount of power saved by pubs in the scheme was equivalent to that consumed by 100 average Czech households in a year.
The famous brewery says it gets more interest in facelifts from businesses in larger urban centres, where there is more competition. Pubs in villages are considerably less interested in how they look.
Plzeňský Prazdroj says the signs and ads it installs in new or renovated restaurants are toned down compared to those used the past. What’s more, it does not want to create a one-size-fits-all appearance and tailors the look to the individual hostelry, a spokesperson told iDnes.cz.
Other big brewers are also active in this regard. Budějovický Budvar, for instance, equips establishments with new sets of outdoor notice boards. These chiefly communicate the brewery’s name and are relatively clean visually, iDnes.cz wrote.
A Budějovický Budvar spokesperson said the company was happy to consult the form of advertising and possible design with pubs that sell their product.
Meanwhile the Staropramen breweries – which in addition to the Prague label also includes Perštejn in Pardubice and Ostravar in Ostrava – have been giving more attention to visual presentation since a rebranding effort in 2017.
