Pictures by Jonathan Myers

First published on 06/04/24

In the spring of 2024, I took on an unusual challenge to see what it would be like to spend a day in Wetherspoon from the moment it opened, until closing time. It might have been considered a bizarre use of time, but I actually learned a lot about the times we are in, and wrote a detailed piece analysing how this giant pub chain has become as successful as it is. It went on to be syndicated across major UK news sites, reaching millions of readers.

I spent a day and night in Cardiff's most prominent Wetherspoons, the Prince of Wales, on the corner of the capital's nightlife epicentre St Mary's Street and in view of the Principality Stadium. "Spoons prices” is a phrase most Brits are probably familiar with, referring to the chain's iconic cheap and cheerful fare. But J D Wetherspoon seems to mean something different to everyone, as I found out. In fact from each passing hour it feels like the venue transforms it into a whole new world.

8am: One person goes through the doors before me. I thought I’d be the first one in. The mood is relaxed, and quiet, with only two or three customers wandering around, and staff are busy placing menus on tables. I’ve ordered the hot drinks refills for £1.56 because I’m keen to see how many drinks I can get out of this before anyone raises an eyebrow.

When asked how much alcohol and coffee Wetherspoon sells every year, a spokesperson for their press office responded; "Alcohol – no idea. Coffee – around 1.5 million cups a week across all pubs."

I sit in the centre of the room so I can get a good view of what people are up to and what the vibes are for the first couple of hours.

Eyeing up one man’s breakfast, it's tempting to open up the Wetherspoon app again and order it to the table, but wanted to wait until at least 10ish- a full English at 8am on a Wednesday morning feels extreme. There are about six or seven people in the pub by 8:30.

They looked like they had places to be, throwing back hot drinks and eating as fast as they could, and nobody seemed to hang around very long at all.

9am: I did think it might be busier by now. It’s still super peaceful. An older lady is sitting across from me enjoying a plate of beans on toast- she doesn’t want her name in the media but tells me she comes in every Wednesday and Thursday morning before her train to Newport. “I get in at 10am for work there but this is my bit of the day when I can think.” I have momentary flashbacks to university nights spent at spoons with people ordering copious amounts of pitchers, struggling to find a free table and resorting to conversing adjacent to a lively bar, as I never thought of Wetherspoon (or any city centre pub for that matter) as a place where people go to think. But each to their own.

A mum has just come in with her toddler and ordered eggs benedict. I overhear her conversation and wonder if I’ve heard her right. Glancing down at the menu, I’m pleased to hear I’ve not gone mad and that they do, indeed, sell this American brunch dish. Two men across from me also seem to be having an informal meeting. They are discussing business over cups of coffee, using their phones to make notes.

Despite my initial adjustment, dining at the Prince of Wales suits the venue, which was once a cinema and has quite a great amount of history, like a lot of the buildings the company takes over.

It's safe to say the pub chain has come a long way over time. For 44 years, Wetherspoon has been a fixture of the UK. From humble beginnings in a former bookies, the first Wetherspoon pub opened in north London, in Colney Hatch Lane, Muswell Hill.

It was dubbed Martin's Free House during its first month of trading, after Tim Martin, the founder and chairman of Wetherspoon. Then, at the start of 1980, the bar was renamed Wetherspoon in honour of Tim's schoolteacher from his time spent living in New Zealand.

Fast forward to now, and many Wetherspoon pubs are adaptations of existing historic buildings that have become redundant, including banks, churches, post offices, theatres, and a former public swimming pool. Many of these properties are listed buildings, however some are new construction or late 20th-century assets.

And it feels like the chain has now kind of taken on a life of its own, with people embracing the spaces across Wales and the UK in all sorts of ways.

You can read this piece in full here.