Unlike rival chains, customers won’t have to book in advance, meaning it’s first come, first served in all outlets.

Breakfast served 8am – 11.30am. Main menu served 11.30am – 11pm.

If you want to sell your drinks cheap then the bar staff have to shift lots of them to make big profits. So the secret to Wetherspoons success is speed. One way they achieve this on busy nights is by using the ‘speed rail’ – a small metal compartment attached to the bar which contains the most sough after booze.

Wetherspoons chairman Tim Martin came under fire this week as some of his 872 branches ran out of beer – but few people realise his £448million net worth started with running just one pub. The much-loved pub chain is known for its cheap food and drink, and is almost always the least expensive drinking venue in a town.

The Wetherspoons dress code does exist, but it’s suitably lax. Feel free to wear jeans, trainers, or pjs – just make sure you’re wearing something, please. In their FAQ section, Wetherspoon explains that their dress code is simple: you simply need to remain clothed, including shoes.

Cash will be accepted but only at specific tills. Gift cards will still be accepted, even if they expired during lockdown – Wetherspoons has extended them for another six months after their expiry date.

In London a pint in Wetherspoons will cost you less than two thirds of what you’ll pay in the place with gastro pretensions up the hill. They can offer these prices because they have massive buying power: more than 1,000 pubs around the country. But then so do 99 per cent of pubs. Most are owned by chains.

JD Wetherspoon has been awarded £50,000 in costs after the company was acquitted of charges relating to the “watering-down” of spirits.

Exeter
Martin is married to Felicity, whom he met while at university; they have four children and live in Exeter, Devon.

The name of the business originates from JD, a character in The Dukes of Hazzard, and Wetherspoon, the surname of one of Martin’s teachers in New Zealand, who had told him that he would not amount to anything.