The CityStack London Independent Pub Collection is celebrating five years of championing independent pubs with the launch of a web app.
The initiative began in 2021 with just 10 pubs, offering ‘beer mat pub vouchers’ to encourage people back into pubs following the pandemic. The goal was simple: to help pub lovers discover and support independent pubs while saving money.
For £25, users received a pack of 10 pub vouchers in the form of beer mats to take to participating pubs, each voucher offering £10 off a £20 spend. That was £100 worth of food and drink across London’s independent pub scene for just £25.
Five years after the initiative began, independent pubs remain squeezed between rising operating costs and declining footfall as the cost-of-living crisis leaves people with less disposable income to spend on going out. As a result, Britain has already lost 295 pubs in 2026, putting the country on course to lose one pub per day this year. London lost 20 pubs over the same period.
While CityStack cannot solve every challenge facing the hospitality industry, it has been tackling one part of the problem since 2021: driving more footfall by helping Londoners discover independent pubs and giving them an incentive to visit.
By making independent venues easier to identify and offering meaningful savings on food and drink, the initiative aims to direct more customers towards the pubs that need their support and help independent pubs compete with chains.
While CityStack cannot solve every challenge facing the hospitality industry, it has been tackling one part of the problem since 2021: driving more footfall by helping Londoners discover independent pubs and giving them an incentive to visit.
Over the past five years, the CityStack London Independent Pub Collection has distributed more than £1 million worth of food and drink, and grown from 10 participating pubs to over 80.
Now CityStack has introduced a digital experience, allowing users to explore the list of participating pubs and redeem their discounts directly from their phones. Available at app.citystack.co, the web app makes it easier to discover participating pubs and redeem the discounts without needing to carry a physical beer mat.
The offer remains the same. For £25, pub lovers receive 10 discounts of £10 off a £20 spend at 10 independent pubs of their choice, adding up to £100 worth of food and drink. Discounts can be redeemed directly from a phone, with no expiry date, giving users the freedom to explore London’s independent pub scene at their own pace.
Users can filter pubs by what they fancy, whether that’s a beer garden, a cosy fireplace, a dartboard, a pool table, or a £5 pint. They can explore each pub’s page to discover new places, document their visits in a personal journal and earn badges along the way.
The app also offers more flexibility in how users receive the pub vouchers. They can purchase a digital ‘collection’ of 10 discounts directly on the web app for £25 or, for a gift, choose a printable gift voucher or a physical pack containing a paper map and discovery beer mats featuring a selection of pubs. Both gift options include a code to unlock the digital collection on the web app.
“People love the tangible aspect of CityStack, and stamping the special beer mat is a big part of the fun,” said founder Alison Boutoille. “But some of our users forget their beer mat, or simply want the convenience of having their discounts on their phone.
“It felt like the right time to offer another way to enjoy the collection, while making it even easier for people to discover and support independent pubs.”
Alongside the collection, Alison has launched the Indie Pub Tour and established the annual Support an Independent Pub Day, held at the end of January to encourage people back into pubs after Dry January.
