The late-night bar operator 3D Entertainment has launched a number of inclusive drink deals under various promotions, such as the “Credit Cruncher” offer and the “We Love All Inclusive” night.
The company is offering unlimited drinks at several Chicago Rock Café outlets, once customers have paid an admission fee. It is charging £10 at the door at its Chicago Rock Cafe bar in Chester Le Street, Durham, and £12 at Bury and Northampton.
The promotions are run on specific nights of the week and are also thought to include free toast.
Other Chicago Rock Cafes are also offering significantly discounted prices on alcohol. These include Wrexham, which has a three-for-one offer on drinks, and Stourbridge in the West Midlands, which has a “Rock Stock Exchange” where prices fluctuate through the night, starting at 95p.
M&C Report was told that “you could drink as much you want” at the Chicago Rock Cafe in Wrexham, with the offer running across a range of drinks, including bottles of Becks, Stella, Budweiser.
A worker at the venue said: “We don't offer it on single shots of spirits. It's only say if you order a single shot of vodka and Pepsi – then you will get three of them.”
A spokesman for the Royal College of Physicians, a member of Alcohol Health Alliance UK, comdemned the offers. He said: “This is exactly the kind of irresponsible alcohol promotion that encourages people to drink more than they would normally.
“It shows that voluntary regulation by the industry is not working and that the government needs to take more stringent action to prevent bars and pubs from offering this kind of promotion.”
The re-emerge of inclusive-drinks offers comes at the time of a government consultation into the effects of alcohol pricing and promotions on consumption.
3D Entertainment Group was formed in January, 2007, following the acquisition of the Luminar Group's Entertainment Division. Luminar owns a 49% stake in 3D Entertainment, a further 31% is owned by chief executive David Crabtree and 21% is owned by Prestbury Holdings.
Luminar also faced criticism last month when it was revealed that some its venues were offering drinks for as little as 80p.
Stephen Thomas, chief executive, defended the policy. He said: "You can buy two cases of Stella Artois from the supermarkets for £20 and the pubs have reacted.
"We have done everything we can to warn the authorities of that. We as an industry need to realise that supermarkets are our biggest competitor. The government has done nothing about supermarkets and they are beating the hell out of us.
“The point about a nightclub is that if you are half-full, you’re less than half-full the next week. No-one likes an empty nightclub - they need density (of customers). We are just testing the market – we could have done this across the estate.”
3D Entertainment could not be reached for comment.
