No beer, we’re students...

Bosses at university union say tastes are moving towards daytime café culture over drinking

Some students would have been baffled and bemused by the phrase “café culture” not long ago.

But now it has claimed an unlikely casualty as the union bar at Abertay University is closing its doors, with bosses saying students are moving away from alcohol.

Apparently, today’s students prefer catching up over lunch and coffee to cut-price pints and shots.

This will be news to many, some may even struggle to believe it, but anything which sees Britain move away from its binge drinking reputation is not to be sniffed at.

The shift to café culture has claimed an unlikely casualty after a Tayside university announced it was shutting its union bar.

Bosses at Abertay University say student tastes are moving away from booze and there is no longer enough demand for alcohol.

Income at the bar has dropped drastically in recent years as many students now prefer afternoon lunch and coffees to cut-price pints and shots.

Bar One, on the first floor of its Dundee union building, will now act only as a bookable events space.

It comes as a recent survey by the National Union of Students (NUS) revealed one in five UK students are teetotal while demand for alcohol-free university events is rising.

An Abertay spokesperson said: “We recognise that student tastes have shifted away from a bar setting and towards a daytime café culture offering.

“Just last year we opened a new Library Café as part of the £5m refurbishment of the Bernard King Library, which has been a success with both students and staff.

“In contrast, sales income in Bar One has dropped by two thirds in the last five years, and from September we will no longer offer food or drink provision in this area.”

The spokesperson said food, snacks and non-alcoholic beverages would still be available in the Aroma Café on the ground floor of the Student Centre, as well as the library café and the campus shop. Official health data shows a third of 16 to 24-year-olds in 2015 said they didn’t drink, compared with around one in five in 2005.

Neighbouring Dundee University Students Association (DUSA) says it union, which is regularly named among the UK’s best, has also tailored its offering in recent years due to falling alcohol consumption.

Hannah Adams, vice-president of communications and campaigns at DUSA, said: “A shift in student culture and demographics in recent years has led to falling alcohol sales at student union bars across the country.

“In light of these changes, DUSA has changed its provision to ensure we cater for all students, whether they choose to drink or not.

“We are always striving to provide our students with the best university experience possible.

“We have no plans for downsizing and will continue to provide a safe space for both nightlife and student activities.”

A spokesperson for St Andrews University said it has no plans to close any of its student bars.

The Abertay move comes a day after Goldsmiths University in London announced it was banning beef from its campus as part of the fight against climate change.

Abertay University’s union.